Rebuilding Broken Lives
by tivafan-01
Summary: A Walk to Remember sequel but can be read alone: After Ziva suffers from memory loss, Tony struggles with the fact that his young bride no longer remembers who he is. Will their love be strong enough to overcome the tragedies that await them? TIVA, Jibbs
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Walk To Remember

Chapter: 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note:I'M NOT DEAD! :P I know it's been FOREVER since I last uploaded a story, but I have been incredibly busy with schoolwork. (I have two senior sciences and two essay courses in the same semester so it's been crazy). That, on top of my part-time job, left me with no time to write. So, I apologize, but I hope to make it up to you with this story. :P Everyone who commented on my question of "should I write a sequal to A Walk To Remember" said 'yes,' so here's the sequel. I know it's been _forever _since you read the first story, and that not everyone reading this story read A Walk To Remember, so that's why I made sure to put flashbacks of that story in the first chapter and make references to events in it. So basically, this chapter is to (1) remind/introduce everyone to the backstory to _this _story, and (2) to set the rest of this story up. :P

Anyways, like I said, I haven't posted in FOREVER so I am SO psyched to be doing so again and that's why I'm rambling. :P Anyways, enjoy! (And sorry for the wait).

* * *

Nervous green eyes stared back at 21 year-old Anthony DiNozzo through the mirror that resided in the front hallway of his house. The young man had dark rings under his eyes, a mute testimony to the fact that he hadn't been getting much sleep lately.

It had been three days since Ziva DiNozzo, the love of his life and newlywed wife, had come out of the coma she'd fallen into during a risky heart transplant that had saved her life. The young Israeli had been suffering from a fatal disease known as dilated cardiomyopathy after her heart was damaged in an explosion that killed her entire family. Tony could still remember the fear that filled him when he'd learned that Ziva had fallen into a coma.

He'd been sitting in the hospital's waiting room with Jethro and Jenny Gibbs, Ziva's adoptive parents. After hours of waiting, Tony had become frantic. He'd been pacing back and forth over the same ten feet in the waiting room and running his fingers through his hair in worry.

Tony had asked his in laws why the surgery was taking so long and Gibbs had just answered that heart transplants usually took hours when a grim-faced nurse called out to them.

A chill ran up and down Tony's spine as he remembered what happened next. The nurse's words were still all-too-fresh in his mind.

"_As you know, we had to put Mrs. DiNozzo under for the surgery. Unfortunately, it appears that she is having difficulty waking up…_ _I'm sorry to inform you, but… Mrs. DiNozzo has fallen into a coma."_

That memory stung, but it also triggered another. This one set just after Ziva woke up from her coma two weeks later. For a few short seconds, Tony had believed that everything would be alright. Then, just as it seemed like everything was falling perfectly into place, life threw in one more devastating twist.

"_Well…" Ziva's doctor began, "I suggest that everyone leave so that Mrs. DiNozzo can rest undisturbed."_

"_Mrs. DiNozzo?" Ziva finally spoke, her head was spinning as the doctor looked at her in concern._

"_Yes my dear, that _is_ your name. Don't you recall who you are?"_

_Ziva closed her eyes in an effort to lessen the pain in her head, "I…" She wet her lips and tried again, "My name is Ziva David."_

And there it was. As if everything he'd suffered through in the past year hadn't been enough, life deemed it necessary to deliver one final blow that flipped his whole world upside down.

The woman that Tony loved more than life and would do anything for—the woman he married and dreamed of spending the rest of his life with—didn't even know who he was.

Tears sprung to Tony's eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. He didn't have time to feel sorry for himself--he was already running a little late. The young man glanced at his watch, causing his eyes to bulge when he realized that he was much more than a "little" late. He was already supposed to be at the hospital by now.

"Dad's going to kill me." Tony muttered under his breath as he shrugged on his coat and grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter. As strict as Gibbs could be on tardiness, however, Tony realized that the older man was the least of his problems. The rest of his life depended on how today went.

Though Ziva had come out of her coma three days ago, everyone had decided that it would be best if Tony didn't see her until she'd had a few days to rest up and recover from the trauma she'd been through. After nearly two weeks in a coma, they didn't want to cause her any unnecessary stress by telling her that, even though she didn't remember him, she had a husband.

So today, Tony would be seeing his wife again for the first time since she came out of her coma. Jenny and Gibbs had already explained everything to Ziva yesterday, so that she could digest all the information being thrown at her before she actually "met" Tony. That, however, was why Tony was so nervous. If today didn't go well... he wasn't sure if Ziva would ever want back into their relationship if he made a bad first impression. After all, it would mean nothing to her at the moment if she simply asked for a divorce and left--her feelings for Tony, at the moment, were non-existent.

DiNozzo took a deep breath before turning away from the mirror he'd been inspecting himself in. Though Tony knew that his behavior was much more important than his looks today, he still wanted to make the best "first" impression he could in any and every way possible.

~~~NCIS~~~

DiNozzo tried to calm the butterflies in his stomach as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. The young man's sweating hands stuck to the steering wheel of his 1966 Mustang as he parked the car close to the hospital entrance.

Though Tony would much rather to park further away, then use the time of walking towards the hospital to clear his head and calm his nerves, there was no time for that now. He was already late, and the last thing he wanted Ziva to believe was that he wasn't eager to see her. Because in truth, he was. In fact, DiNozzo wasn't sure if he'd ever been so eager to see anyone in his entire life.

He loved Ziva more than life itself and not being able to see her for the last three days, on top of the two weeks she'd spent in a coma, had been killing him. Still, he was in no way oblivious to the weight that today held. Maybe that was the most confusing part of all this for Tony. Part of him wanted nothing more than to rush into that hospital and see his wife, while another part was screaming at him not to go inside... the same part was warning him not to mess this up.

Slowly, and yet still way too fast for Tony, he made his way towards the hospital and up to the third floor where Ziva was staying. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, a hand collided with the back of his head. Tony turned around to find Gibbs waiting for him, "You're late."

"I know Dad I'm so--"

Gibbs' hand collided with the back of Tony's head again as the older man started walking towards Ziva's room. "Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness. Now come on, she knows you're coming."

Tony's stomach dropped and his heart rate accelerated as he grew closer to the hospital room where his estranged wife was staying. When he finally reached her door, DiNozzo couldn't help but pause. It was odd, knowing that his whole life depended on the next few minutes--odd, to think that his entire fate would be determined in the very next room.

Taking a deep breath, Tony closed his eyes and pushed the door open, then stepped inside. For the first time in what felt like forever, his eyes met with Ziva's. An awkward silence filled the room as husband and wife stared at each other, both at a total loss for words. It was Gibbs who finally broke the silence when he cleared his throat and began, "Jen and I are going to get some coffee."

Ziva looked at her parents with wide eyes, and Tony could practically read the question in them. _Why are you leaving me alone with him? _

Saying that seeing the look in her eyes didn't hurt would be a lie, and even though Tony knew it wasn't her fault, he couldn't stop a wave of grief from washing over him. Overwhelmed, the young man backed out of the room, then turned and began walking swiftly down the hall, away from the love of his life.

For a few long seconds, everyone simply stared at the recently vacated door in shock. It wasn't long, however, before Gibbs stood up and went to follow his son-in-law.

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony's heart was bruised and bleeding as he ran out of Ziva's hospital room. The pain in his chest was nearly unbearable as he simply kept on running, oblivious to everything that was going on around him.

At the moment, the whole world was a blur, and Tony felt as if the only way to make sense of it all was to leave. As much of a coward as it made him, Tony ran, because he needed to escape.

Down the hallway and three flights of stairs, DiNozzo continued running as he left the hospital building all together. He was just crossing over a small section of grass that separated parking spaces from the driving area of the parking lot when Tony felt someone tackle him to the ground.

Whoever had tackled Tony was now lying on top of him, limiting his movements, and DiNozzo struggled to get back up.

The man who had fallen on top of Tony quickly stood up, but pushed DiNozzo back down as soon as he did the same. "You're not going anywhere until you stop being such an idiot!" The voice growled, and Tony instantly recognized it at Gibbs'.

The younger man tried to get up once again, and this time his father-in-law let him. Still, Gibbs didn't bother to hide the anger in his eyes as he glared at Tony.

"You have one minute to explain yourself before I shoot you." Gibbs spat, causing Tony's eyes to widen. Though the two men had a generally good relationship, and Gibbs had genuinely come to care for Tony as his own son, he was still _very _protective of Ziva and would not hesitate to harm anyone who hurt her--especially now, considering the state she was in.

"Look Dad—"

"Shut up." Gibbs interrupted Tony, apparently, the younger man's "minute" of explanation time was up. "Don't call me _Dad_ unless you intend to keep me as your father."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony questioned, his own level of anger rising now. Still, Gibbs was seething and refused to back down.

"You know damn well what it means. I gave my blessing for you to marry my daughter on your wedding day. Don't make me regret it."

"Listen Gibbs," Tony began, anger coursing through his veins. However, Gibbs cut him off once again.

"No. _You _listen Tony. Three days ago Ziva woke up from her coma. She didn't remember who you were and we were _all _devastated, not just you. Do you seriously think that this is any easier on Ziva than it is on you?!"

Tony shook his head meekly, and as the younger man seemed to deflate, Gibbs softened his tone. "Do you remember the promise you made both to me, Ziva, and yourself only a few minutes after you learned of Ziva's memory loss?"

Suddenly, Tony's eyes took on a far-away look as the memory Gibbs was referring to washed over him.

After learning that Ziva didn't remember who he was, Tony had lost it. He'd tried to run, but the young man's legs had gone weak from the shock, and were no longer able to support him after he'd left his wife's room.

Slumping down to the ground in the hallway, Tony stared at Ziva, who had already fallen asleep and was completely oblivious to the way she was breaking his heart. Gibbs, seeing how distressed his son-in-law was, left Ziva's room and sat down beside Tony on the floor.

After letting Tony rant about how unfair life was for quite a few minutes, Gibbs stopped the younger man angrily after Tony questioned if Ziva ever truly loved him, after all, she had no problem remembering her parents.

_Gibbs eyes turned to ice as he looked at the young man before him. "Are you leaving her?"_

_Tony's head shot straight up at Gibbs' words."What?!" _

"_You heard me, __DiNozzo. Are. You. Going. To. Leave. Her?"_

_When Tony didn't answer Gibbs' rage grew, "Because I swear if you leave her now when she needs you the most I will not stop myself from beating the crap outta you!"_

"_I'm not leaving her." Tony answered as soon as he got over the shock from Gibbs' accusation. Now it was his turn to get angry. He looked at the older man with darkened green eyes and was barely able to keep his voice even, "How dare you ever ask me that?"_

_Gibbs stared Tony down, but was surprised to see the younger man stand his ground—something that few people did with him._

_As soon as he was sure that Tony wasn't lying, Gibbs nodded approvingly, "Good. Because if you ever left—"_

"_I wouldn't." Tony stated with confidence as he cut Gibbs off. The older man nodded._

"_Okay." He waited until Tony was standing up and looking in Ziva's room before questioning, "And what if she never gets her memory back?"_

_Tony paused for a moment as he considered his answer. It broke his heart to know that it was very likely she never would remember._

_Still, there was no way he'd ever leave her. Tony took in Ziva's sleeping form and couldn't help but smile at how peaceful she looked. He never took his eyes off her while answering Gibbs, "Then I guess we'll have to fall in love all over again."_

"We'll fall in love all over again." Tony murmured softly to himself before straightening his back in determination. He'd keep the promise that he made.

Even though it would, no doubt, be difficult for both of them to rebuild the life they'd lost, there was no way Tony was going to let the best thing that had ever happened to him go. He still loved Ziva, and even if she didn't remember who he was at the moment, Tony was sure that, deep down, Ziva still loved him too.

"What?" Gibbs questioned, forcing the younger man out of his thoughts and back into reality.

Tony looked at his father-in-law, to the hospital, and back before making his intentions clear, "I said 'for better or worse' and meant it. There's no way I'm leaving Ziva when she needs me most."

Gibbs nodded his approval and the two men headed back towards the hospital. It was only when the elevator doors closed behind them and they started moving back up to Ziva's floor that Tony finished his thought. _There's no way I'm leaving Ziva when she needs me most… There's no way I'd leave her at all.

* * *

_:D So how was it? I hope that everyone who didn't read A Walk To Remember understands what is going on, if you don't just message me (or if you can't because you don't have an account, leave an anonymous review) and I'll explain it to you. :) Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this. Like I said, it was more of an introductory chapter to set things up, but I still hope that it wasn't too boring. Lol, I can promise you that the rest of the story won't be. :P

Anyways, it's great to be writing again and I hope you all enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note:Hi! I'm SO sorry for the long wait since the last chapter (one week wait for the first update is horrible, I know). But, in all fairness, it wasn't my fault! :P First, fanfiction wouldn't let me update, and by the time it was fixed, I was _really sick. _(I seriously think I had the swine flu because I had a bunch of the symptoms, was tired for the whole week, and could barely do a thing. So there was no way I was able to write, sorry!) Anyways, I should be catching up one homework, but felt as if I owed you guys an update (and I _really _wanted to get at least one more chapter in before this week was over. :P) Anyways, now that I've explained myself, enjoy!

(PS. Thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed, or put me or my story on alert/as a favourite. You have no idea how happy that makes me, so thank you!)

* * *

Silence fell over Ziva's hospital room immediately after Gibbs left to follow Tony. Mother and daughter sat quietly, impatiently, as they waited for both men to return.

Jenny was staring at her daughter, her heart breaking with the knowledge of how difficult life was about to become for Tony and Ziva. The young couple had already been through so much together, but this was different. Before they had each other to get through everything life threw their way, now… Now they seemed like strangers. The sad truth was, they _were _strangers. Neither Tony nor Ziva were the same people that they were just one year ago.

Tony had matured considerably throughout the different ordeals he and Ziva had been forced to face, and the young man had stated more than once that Ziva had been the reason for his change. In many ways, this was true. Before Tony really knew Ziva, he'd been a bully—a popular one, but a bully nonetheless. It was only when Ziva began tutoring him so that the proud "captain of the high school football team" wouldn't be kicked off the team that Tony began changing.

Ziva had joined Tony's high school in grade 11 after moving from Israel to America. She was a young woman, but still wasn't old enough to take care of herself when her whole family was killed. Gibbs had been called in to investigate Ziva's family's death when it was suspected that a marine was involved. He fell in love the moment he saw the young woman.

Gibbs had always had a special place for kids in his heart, but Jenny had proven incapable of bearing children. The two had been heartbroken, of course, but neither of them had ever given up on being parents. That was why they had both fought so hard to adopt Ziva after it became apparent that she had no living relatives left.

The young woman was independent and stubborn, but life as she knew it had changed drastically with the death of her parents and siblings. Jenny and Gibbs had seen right through Ziva's tough façade, immediately noting that what she needed was someone to comfort her and some way to return to a normal life—she needed a family, and that was just what they were willing to provide her with.

Eventually, after all the right papers were signed and taken care of, Ziva David was officially the child of Jethro and Jenny Gibbs. The three made an odd bunch, Gibbs being a former marine with no use for politics, Jenny being both his wife and boss as Director of NCIS, and Ziva being the orphaned Israeli—wounded both physically and emotionally by the explosion that had killed everyone in her immediate family.

Still, somehow the three had made life work and quickly became a close-knit family. It had devastated them all to learn that Ziva was dying of cardiomyopathy after her heart was damaged in the same explosion that had killed her last living relatives. Still, the Gibbs family remained close, despite the fact that their relationships were strained by Ziva's sickness.

Ziva had appeared to be in a permanent state of denial, becoming angry and refusing to talk whenever anyone brought her fate up. Jenny, though she hid it well, cried softly to herself during every private moment she had. Then there was Gibbs, who tried to be strong for everyone, but often ended up being overprotective instead.

Their relationships were rocky, but they all still loved each other. In fact, it was only when Tony entered their lives that things had started to return to normal for the Gibbs family.

Despite the fact that Tony so often said Ziva inspired him to change, the truth was that _he_ had changed them all.

Ziva had started to smile more once Tony entered her life, and once Jenny realized how happy he made her daughter, the young man was immediately approved. Gibbs was the most sceptical. He also noted the way that Tony and Ziva acted differently around each other, but was still trying to protect Ziva from everything that came her way—including the possible heartbreak Tony could've put her through.

Still, it became apparent that Tony didn't mean their daughter any harm and even Gibbs warmed up to him—a fortunate event, considering the fact that Tony asked for his blessing before proposing to Ziva and making her his wife.

"Ahem." A voice was cleared from the doorway, breaking Jenny out of her thoughts as she looked up to see Tony and Gibbs walking back into Ziva's hospital room. Jen raised an eyebrow upon seeing the grass stains on both men's clothes, but Gibbs managed to keep a straight face. The twinkle in his eyes, however, betrayed what really happened and Jenny fought the urge to roll her eyes at how immature her husband could still be.

"Jethro, why don't we take a little walk outside." Jenny offered, forcing a smile on her face for Tony and Ziva's sake, but still trying hard not to encourage Gibbs' actions.

"I like it in here." Gibbs smirked, but Jen simply rolled her eyes and stood up before grabbing her husband's arm and dragging him out of the room. "Seriously Jethro? Couldn't you have convinced Tony to talk in some other way than using force? I mean, what'd you do, tackle him to the ground?"

"It was on the grass. Besides, he wouldn't stop walking away, so I _made _him." Gibbs offered as a simple explanation, a smirk on his face the whole time he did so.

Jenny rolled her eyes and sighed. Upon noticing that both Tony and Ziva were trying, but failing, to appear subtle as they watched the scene play out between husband and wife, Jenny shook her head slightly and shut the door to Ziva's hospital room. _Am I the only adult here?_

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony and Ziva both chuckled at the scene going on between Jenny and Gibbs. The moment Jen shut the door, they stopped trying to be subtle about the fact that they were watching and simply burst out into laughter.

A few seconds later, the laughter subsided, and an awkward silence fell over husband and wife.

"So," Tony cleared his throat. He flashed Ziva his famous 'DiNozzo grin' and tried to joke around, "What do you think Dad's punishment is going to be?"

_Dad. _ Ziva thought. Despite the fact that she knew the man before her was her husband, it felt weird to have him call Gibbs dad. She forced a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes and Tony knew it wasn't real.

"I do not know. But he has had many years of practice for dealing with my mother, and typically handles himself quite well, if I may say so."

"You're right on that one." Tony agreed, "I've noticed many different occasions that he's managed to weasel out of situations he should've been in a lot of trouble for."

"Yes," Ziva nodded, "He is in no way diplomatic, but my father does know how to get out of tough situations quickly and with relative ease."

Tony chuckled and nodded his agreement before another awkward silence fell over the room. Both husband and wife couldn't help but notice how different life was than what they had expected.

Ziva had never been fully sure of whether or not she would ever find love, it simply didn't seem to fit with her independent personality. Even if she did find love, the young woman had never dreamed she'd get married at such a young age, then completely forget who her husband was after narrowly surviving heart disease and a coma.

Tony, too, had never believed that he would find love. Before Ziva, he was the biggest "player" anyone who met him had ever known. The young man loved women, but he never expected to love _a woman._ He was absolutely terrified of commitment, but it was only after he truly got to know Ziva that Tony realized he was even more afraid of losing Ziva than he was of loving her.

"You know," Ziva began, breaking the silence, "we are both aware of the fact that our relationship is much different now than it was just a few weeks ago."

Tony shifted his weight uncomfortably and refused to meet Ziva's eyes, but his wife decided that it was too late to stop what she was saying now and simply continued. "I am sorry to make you uncomfortable, but avoiding the issue will not make it go away. So… I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about yourself, just so I know…"

Ziva trailed off, but Tony knew exactly what she was thinking. _Just so I know who you really are and what kind of man I'm married to. _

DiNozzo's palms began to sweat, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably, clearing his throat to break the awkward silence before speaking. "Yeah… sure. Um, my name is Anthony DiNozzo, but everyone calls me Tony. I…"

Tony trailed off, suddenly feeling both lame and awkward. Here he was, talking with his wife, and he had absolutely no clue what to say.

"I love movies." He offered lamely, mentally kicking himself for coming off as so vain, couldn't he come up with anything deeper than that? "Like a typical guy, I love food and football," _But I love you more._

Tony shook that thought away, knowing that saying anything like that right now would not end well. It was too early for her to hear it, and he wouldn't be able to bear the silence that would follow.

"I actually used to play football in high school." Tony continued, becoming nervous as he started to ramble. "I was really good and they made me captain."

_Great, now she thinks you're cocky. _

Tony mentally swore as he fumbled with words, trying to save the conversation. "I, uh… actually, I, uh…." The young man grew more nervous with every passing second as he stuttered and became flustered.

"I, uh… That, that's actually how we met." Ziva's eyebrows rose, showing that she was interested, and Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he cleared his throat and started talking as calmly as he could.

"Yeah, I was football captain, but didn't do as well in actual _school. _Math was the hardest for me. The coach called me over one morning and said that I needed to get my grades up or else I'd be kicked off the team. I panicked, of course, but Coach had it all figured out. He knew that I'd never get my grades up without help, and had arranged for you to tutor me. We'd never really talked before then, and the only time we had I'd been a jerk to you."

Tony blushed as he realized how badly he was coming off, and quickly tried to fix it with a compliment. "But you've always given everyone the benefit of the doubt and decided to give me a chance. Of course, I still wasn't a genius like you are, but my marks started to shoot right up after you began helping me."

Ziva smiled softly and Tony couldn't help but smile back, it felt good to be talking to her and smiling with her again. It had been too long since he had, and there was no denying the fact that he missed her.

Though a simple smile didn't seem like a very big deal, to Tony it was. Because, small as it may be, a smile was still progress.

* * *

:D How was that? At least they're staring to get to know each other again (even if it is only a smile it's better than nothing). :D Anyways, the next chapter will be all about Ziva being released, which will have complications of its own. :p

Anyways, I hope that you all enjoyed that. (I certainly enjoyed writing it! Although this one didn't have much dialogue, it addressed some issues that needed to be addressed, such as Ziva not knowing _anything_ about her husband, other than the fact that he's her husband. :P)

Also, I personally liked the Jibbs interaction in this chapter, and can totally see it happening that Jenny's scolding Gibbs for something like tackling Tony. :p Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and will try to update soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: :D! Once again, I'm sorry for the wait for this update, but trust me, my life's been crazy over the past week. (Three tests, two projects and a HUGE essay, on top of regular homework! Don't you just love school? :P) Anyways, it's going to be crazy for a while, but I PROMISE to make time whenever I can and update as soon as possible. This is a shorter chapter, and ended up a lot different than I had expected. Still, I thought it was about time I put in one of my signature twists that I know you all love. :P

Anyways, thanks to all those who reviewed! Sorry it's such a short chapter, but like I said, I was very short on time and even getting this up was a stretch. :D Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Ziva struggled to sit up, then grunted slightly with the effort it took to swing her legs over the side of her hospital bed. It was twelve days ago today that she woke up from her coma, and her doctors were very pleased with how well the young woman was coming along--so happy, in fact, that they were discharging her today, a few days earlier than they'd first expected.

After "waking up," Ziva had spent the first few days simply resting. The young woman had been completely surprised at how tired she was, despite the fact she hadn't been out of bed in two weeks. Both her nurses and doctors told her that this was perfectly normal--her body had been through a lot in the past couple of weeks and it would take her a while to regain her strength.

Still, Ziva had always been a determined woman, and sure enough, she was walking again only four days after she woke up from her coma. She'd decided that four days was all the recovery time she needed, and despite the fact that her doctors discouraged her from trying to push herself, Ziva was eager to get up and walk around again.

The young woman had found it very frustrating at first when she was unable to walk by herself. Her legs were weak from a lack of exercise over the last couple of weeks, forcing Ziva to accept help from others in order to get around. If she wanted to walk, there was no getting around it. She'd simply have to accept help and hang on to the other person's arm for a little bit of support so her legs weren't under so much stress.

Though her parents had been a lot of help for this reason and many more, Ziva had been surprised with just how supportive Tony was being.

Over the past week and a half, the two had become closer. Ziva couldn't help but appreciate all that he was doing for her. Despite the fact that this all must be hard for him, Tony hadn't given up on her. Even Ziva's parents had become frustrated with her when she refused to listen to the doctor's warnings about pushing herself and when she insisted on spending every moment possible to get back to walking. Tony however, had been different. It seemed as if he understood.

To Ziva, walking was as much a mental goal as it was a physical one. She'd been weak and dependent for so long now, the young woman needed to know that she could take care of herself again. She needed to prove--to both others and herself--that she was strong.

That was why Ziva appreciated the way Tony "handled" her over the past week and a half. While the medical staff at the hospital and her parents seemed to be smothering her, Tony kept his distance. He allowed her to try things on her own, but was still there for her, providing support, when she proved unable and became frustrated.

Ziva was sure that it was only Tony who had kept her sane throughout her hospital stay. Her parents and medical staff were overprotective and overbearing, but he allowed her to try things on her own. More importantly, however, he believed in her and the fact that she could succeed.

After all that he'd done for her, Ziva wished more than anything that she could do something back for him. She could see it clearly in his eyes how much he cared for her, and despite the fact that she didn't truly know who he was, it cut her to the bone each time she saw pain in his eyes--pain she knew _she _was causing him.

From what she'd seen of her apparent husband so far, Ziva was sure that he was a good man. The problem was that she didn't know just _how _good of a man she was. In fact, she knew very little about him.

Despite the fact that they'd talked and grown closer during Ziva's hospital stay, the young woman knew all too well that something was off between them. In truth, the thought seemed ridiculous. _Of course_ things were "off" between them--how could their relationship be perfectly normal when, despite the fact that they're husband and wife, Ziva knew practically nothing about Tony?

Sure, she had been impressed by what she'd seen of her husband so far, but the truth was that he still felt like a stranger. The worst part was, the closer they became, the stronger this odd feeling inside Ziva grew.

Though the young woman would _love_ to say that this feeling was love, which Tony was rekindling within her, she knew it wasn't. Instead, in the pit of her stomach, Ziva knew that it was quite the opposite. Tony loved her, there was no doubt about that, and Ziva was sure that they could build a good life together. He clearly cared for her and took good care _of _her, not to mention the fact that he _was_ willing to stick with her during both the good times and the bad. There was only one problem--Ziva simply didn't feel the same way.

The growing feeling inside her was one of friendship, not love, and the odd sensation in the pit of her stomach was anxiety over the knowledge that this could not end well. Though she really cares for him, Ziva simply doesn't care for Tony in _that _way--a major problem, considering the fact that he's her husband. It was for this reason that Ziva had been forced to make an aggravating decision.

"Ziva?" Jenny's voice broke the young woman out of her thoughts, causing Ziva to look up and see her mother standing in the door to her hospital room. Jenny smiled and held up Ziva's coat in her right arm. "The doctors are discharging you now. I've already signed the papers, so once you get changed, we're good to go."

The smile on her mother's face was so radiant that Ziva hesitated, second guessing her decision of whether or not she should tell her mother about what she was about to do. Sensing her daughter's unease and wondering why the young woman wasn't overjoyed about the fact that she was finally going home, Jenny's smile faltered.

Slowly, the older woman walked to the foot of her daughter's bed and placed a comforting hand on Ziva's foot. Concern was painfully evident in Jenny's eyes as she questioned. "Is everything okay?"

Ziva took a deep breath and silently debated over whether or not she should tell her mother what she was thinking about. In the end, however, the young woman decided that, after everything her mother had done for her, she deserved to know what Ziva was thinking about. After all, it affected her too.

"I... I was wondering if I could move back in with you and Dad." Ziva said hesitantly, unsure of how Jenny would take the news.

"What do you mean?" Jen's eyebrows rose as she finished, "You don't need to live with us Ziva. You and Tony own a house together. You're going to live there."

Ziva was biting her lip, but finally, felt unable to keep it in any longer. "I'm not sure if I can live there with him Mom," Ziva hesitating only a second before blurting out the rest, "I'm going to ask him for a divorce."

* * *

**Dun dun dun..... So do you all hate me now? :P**

**I'm sorry (actually I'm not, but sorry seems like the right thing to say), but I love throwing twists in my stories. I'm not sure if you were expecting this one or not, but I tried to make it a surprise by seeming positive about their relationship at the beginning of the chapter. (I know, I know, I'm evil for getting your hopes up like that). :P**

**Anyways, I'll update as soon as I can, and will start writing the next chapter immediately. :D I hope you all enjoyed and thanks for reading!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note:Hi everyone! Again, I am _so_ sorry that it took me so long to update, but grade 11 homework load is _crazy! _(I don't even want to think about how hard gr. 12 is going to be :S). Still, you may have to have a little bit of patience with me, but I _promise_ that I WILL finish this story, just as I have finished all my other ones. Plus, the good news is that Christmas holidays are coming up soon so I can update more frequently then, and not leave you guys hanging for a week (and after threatening to divorce Tony and Ziva too! Man, I am mean. :P)

Anyways, like I said, you may have to bear with me for the next week and a half as again, I have several tests, projects and presentations. Still, I will write as much as I can, as often as I can. Anyways, enough of my rambling. Here is the next chapter as promised, and all I'll say is that you may like this one a little better than the last. :P Thanks for all your reviews, and enjoy! :D

* * *

Dead silence.

Jenny Gibbs stared at her daughter in disbelief. Several seconds ticked painfully by before Jenny was finally able to form words again. Shocked by her daughter's words, Jen stuttered and stumbled over the simple sentence.

"You... you wa--you want a divorce?" The words were stated with total disbelief, but Jenny's heart sank when she saw the look in her daughter's eyes--this was no joke.

"I'm sorry," Ziva began softly, carefully watching for her mother's reaction as she continued, "it's just... I just can't--"

The young woman stopped abruptly, suddenly feeling very unsure of herself and her decision to talk to her Jenny before Tony. Mother and daughter sat in an uncomfortable silence until, finally, Jenny composed herself, straightening her back with determination as she began.

"Ziva, do you have any idea how much Tony has done for you? Do you have any clue at all about what he's given up for you?"

"I never asked him to give anything up for me." Ziva snapped angrily. The moment the words left her mouth she regretted them, knowing that there was no reason to snap at her mother, who was only trying to help. Still, Jen appeared unfazed as she continued.

"I know you didn't Ziva, and that's the most beautiful thing about all this. You never had to _ask_ Tony to do anything for you--he did it all willingly. He loves you so much that he sacrificed anything and everything he had in order to make sure you were okay. Love doesn't get much truer than that."

Ziva sat silently, staring intently at her hands so that she wouldn't have to make eye contact with her mother. Still, Jenny was not one to be easily deterred. "Ziva, I can guarantee that you will never find a man that loves you as much as Tony. He stood by your side when very few others would have. He's young, and extremely talented. By the time the two of you graduated high school, he had unlimited options of where to take his life, yet he chose the only one he ever truly wanted... _you." _

Jenny stared intently at her daughter, silently waiting for her words to register. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ziva's eyes met her mother's.

"I know that he loves me, and that he's sacrificed so much for me." The young woman admitted, "The problem is that, I don't love him. No matter how much I try, I can't feel anything towards him in _that_ way. We've spent the most of the past week and a half together, yet--"

"A week and a half!" Jenny scoffed, cutting her daughter off short. "You know I love you Ziva, but if you think that everything between the two of you will return to normal in _a week and a half_ I've raised a fool!"

Ziva glared at her mother, anger rising up from deep within her. "A fool?!" The outrage was unhidden from Ziva's tone and was all-too-evident in her eyes, but Jenny refused to back down.

"Yes. A fool, because that's exactly what you'd be to throw away what you and Tony have."

"Tony and I have nothing together!" Ziva seethed, then, all at once, the young woman's anger subsided, leaving behind an empty and defeated look in her eyes. "He's my _husband_ and yet he's a total stranger to me. I never thought that, when I got married it would be like this." She admitted softly, "It was never supposed to be like this."

"You're right," Jenny admitted, causing her daughter's head to snap up in disbelief. "It _wasn't _supposed to be like this. You were never supposed to fall sick. You were never supposed to fall into a coma. You were never even _supposed_ to _survive_ that coma--and yet you did. You beat the odds on all these accounts, isn't there some small part of you that wonders whether you and Tony can make this work?"

Ziva let out a small sigh, and Jenny sat back contently, knowing that she'd gotten her point across. They sat in silence for a moment as Jen allowed her daughter to process the whirlwind of thoughts racing through her mind. Finally, it was Ziva who broke the silence.

"I know that you really want me to say that we can work it out, but to be honest Mom--I am not sure we can." Ziva stated unsurely. She quickly continued, however, when Jenny opened her mouth, as if to speak, "I am not sure that we can work it out, but both for your sake and for Tony--who _has_ stayed by my side through all this--I am willing to give it a try."

Jen nodded slowly, a small smile gracing her delicate features as she looked at her daughter. "That's all I'm asking you to do, just _try_ and work things out."

Inwardly, Jenny let out a sigh of relief. She loved her daughter too much to let her throw away everything she had with Tony... despite the fact that she didn't even realize she had it. Jenny's relief was not only for Ziva's sake, however, as the red-haired woman knew all-too-well how devastated Tony would be if Ziva did ever leave him--especially after he stayed by her side through all the trying events of the past month.

Jen's smile grew as Tony and her husband appeared in the doorway, ready to leave this hospital behind forever as soon as Ziva changed out of her hospital gown. Tony looked nervous, yet excited about the fact that Ziva would once again be coming home. Ziva was equally nervous, but was hiding it considerably better than Tony was.

Looking between husband and wife, Jenny felt a sense of contentment from the knowledge that, though the days to come would be anything but easy for Tony and Ziva, the young couples' marriage would flourish as long as they never gave up on rekindling the love no one doubted they shared.

~~~NCIS~~~

"Are you ready to go?" Tony asked unsurely, and Ziva answered him with a tight smile.

Doing her best not to show how difficult it still was to get around, she swung both legs over the edge of her hospital bed and stood up. Reaching for her clothes, Ziva nodded and headed towards the bathroom. "I'll be out in just a minute."

As soon as the bathroom door was closed behind her, Ziva quickly slipped out of her hospital gown and changed into the clothes Jenny had brought her. The young woman's hands were shaking with nerves as she glanced in the mirror and smoothed her hair one last time before returning to her hospital room, where everyone was waiting for her.

Jenny and Gibbs smiled encouragingly as Ziva shrugged on her coat and turned to them, ready to leave.  
The young woman looked towards her husband, who was smiling nervously at her. Ziva swallowed her surprise, hoping it didn't show on her face.

Out of the past week and a half when she had been awake, this was the first time Tony actually _smiled_ at her. Before, he had been so consumed with worry for her health and their marriage. Now, however, Ziva couldn't help but be slightly taken aback at her husband. The frown on his face had blocked these thoughts before, but looking at him now, Ziva couldn't help but admit that he was attractive—in every sense of the word.

Of course, this in no way meant that she was suddenly in love with him again, but there was no doubting the fact that this smiling Tony seemed much more likable and easygoing than the Tony Ziva had seen over the last week and a half. In fact, looking at him now sent a jolt of electricity through Ziva's system. _Maybe being married to him won't be half bad…_

_No,_ Ziva shook her head slightly, that was incredibly vain. There was no way she could tell if being married to Tony was a good thing or not until she knew him better. Still, looking at Tony once again, a new revelation hit Ziva—this time about how perfect his eyes were. Sparkling pools of green, there was a strange look in them that Ziva couldn't quite place—probably because no one had ever looked at her that way before.

"Ahem." Gibbs cleared his throat awkwardly, snapping Ziva out of her slight daze and causing her to realize that she'd been staring… and that everyone had noticed. The young woman blushed furiously and avoided any and all eye contact as she ducked her head down slightly to hide her flushed face as she passed by all three members of her family and walked into the hall.

Tony was hiding a small, but truly happy, smile as he followed his wife to the elevators. Jenny and Gibbs trailed slightly behind, both chuckling slightly at the looks on Tony and Ziva's faces. When the elevator arrived and its' doors opened, the group of four quickly crowded onto the metal box and pressed the down button.

A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened once again and Gibbs, Jenny, Tony, and Ziva all poured out of the cold metal box, heading straight towards their vehicles in an effort to quickly escape the biting cold December wind.

Jenny and Gibbs quickly got into their car and, with Gibbs driving, sped off towards their suburban house. Tony and Ziva's red convertible, however, pulled out of the hospital parking lot at a much lower speed. Tony drove, since Ziva didn't know their way home, but it turned out to be best in the end. Instead of having to focus on the road, the young woman simply sat beside her husband, deep in thought as house after house whizzed by.

Finally, Tony pulled the car to a stop in their driveway and got out of the car. Ziva quickly snapped out of her thoughts and, after unbuckling herself, exited the car. It was only when Tony put the keys in the door and began unlocking their house, however, that Ziva seemed to truly realize where she was.

Looking at the house she apparently owned, the young woman couldn't help but be impressed. It was a comfortably sized bungalow with off-white siding and a small front porch surrounded by gardens. The place was very homey, yet Ziva knew that it wouldn't have come cheap—a thought which caused her to question how they were able to afford it.

The young woman pushed that thought to the side and climbed the steps to the porch and walked through the door that Tony was holding open for her. Ziva nodded her thanks and entered the wide front hall.

Immediately taking off her shoes, she placed them next to a small, wooden table that held an expensive-looking vase containing yellow flowers. Above the table was a small mirror, and Ziva smiled slightly at her awe-struck reflection.

"The place is beautiful." She commented, and Tony smiled at her.

"We looked at quite a few places, but the moment we saw this one, it just felt right."

Ziva nodded softly, unsure of how else to respond. After a few moments of awkward silence, Tony spoke. "Well, you've been through a lot in the past few weeks, so why don't you just relax, take a look through the house if you want or just sit down and take some time to yourself. It's almost noon so I'll make lunch."

Ziva nodded her agreement and, as soon as Tony was out of sight, began "exploring" her house. The place had a very open feel, and had arches, instead of doors, leading to the kitchen and living room. Ziva stepped into the cozy living room, filled with a large TV, beige couch and lounge chair made of microfiber, and a brick fireplace. The dark, wooden end tables matched the coffee table, which held more yellow flowers.

A thought passed through Ziva's mind about how fresh all the flowers seemed, and how they were all conveniently her favourite. The young woman smiled slightly as she realized just how much care Tony had put into making sure she enjoyed living there—how much effort he put into ensuring that she'd enjoy living with _him._

A wave of guilt washed over Ziva as she realized how committed he was, and how _uncommitted_ she was. Straightening her back, the young woman made up her mind right then. Though she'd meant the promise she made Jenny, saying that she'd try to make things work, it was different now. Tony had done so much for her… _trying _simply wasn't enough. She was _going_ to make this marriage work, even if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

**So… as long of a wait as this was, I hope it was worth it. :) I tried to give you guys a bit of a happier ending for this chapter, and show a bit of hope that things are getting better. Anyways, it DID take forever to update this, but it's also a really long chapter (the longest one yet in this story) and I hope you enjoyed it! **

**I haven't asked you to review at all so far, but I am asking you to do it now to let me know how I'm doing. :D (Even if it is just to tell me that I need to get off my butt and write more quickly :P). I hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: :S I want to start off by saying sorry (again) for the extremely long wait. Once again, school work (six projects for four courses in the last week of school! I swear the teachers hate us :( ) got in the way, and then I started the Christmas break VERY excited thinking that I'd get a lot of writing done, only to learn that we were having company sleeping over from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day and I had to help my mom get ready... leaving me with no time to write. :(

So.... sorry, but I haven't just been being lazy. Plus, as a little gift for you guys all being so patient, I not only made this chapter longer, but put in two special little things by the end that I'll talk about in the author's note at the end. Anyways, thanks so much to everyone who has stuck with this story (despite the incredibly long times between updates, which I plan to make shorter) and thanks again to those who reviewed. Enjoy!

* * *

"Are you hungry?" Ziva jumped in surprise, then turned around to face Tony, who had crept up behind her while she "rediscovered" their home. The young woman blushed slightly when she realized Tony had been there for a while, simply watching her.

"I am fine." She replied, but Tony smiled teasingly at her.

"I know you are Sweetcheeks, but that's not what I asked." The young man's face flushed a bright red at the look Ziva gave him when he called her 'Sweetcheeks.' The innocent little nickname that he knew she used to love, despite the playful death glare she'd send him for using it, was now one of the many painful reminders of the fact that their perfect relationship had been shattered.

Despite the fact that they were both trying to pick up the pieces, Tony knew that the wound they were just inflicted with never would never truly go away. Though he was sure they'd be able to work things out, the young man knew that their marriage would be permanently scarred by the fact that Ziva couldn't remember who he was.

Tony was brought back to the present when Ziva shifted her weight uncomfortably before him. The young man blushed even deeper as he tried to cover up. "I'm glad you're fine, but I was wondering how many grill cheese sandwiches you wanted."

By the look on his wife's face, Tony knew Ziva had sensed his discomfort. Still, instead of making a big deal of the 'Sweetcheeks' comment, she simply smiled and replied. "Just one, thank you."

"Just one it is, then." Tony offered, before flashing her another smile and slowly backing out of the living room. He returned a few minutes later, with a small tray holding three plates, two empty and one holding several grill cheese sandwiches, along with two glasses of milk and a bottle of ketchup. Tony placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down on the couch.

"I thought we'd eat in here, since it's only grill cheese. Figured it was a little more comfortable in here." He called out to Ziva, who was on the opposite side of the room, staring at pictures of the two of them that were placed on the mantel of their fireplace.

"That's fine," She answered absently while backing away from the photos and heading towards the table. "They look delicious."

"Of course they do," Tony smirked, "They're one of the few things I know how to cook well."

Ziva smiled and nodded silently before sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. An awkward silence fell over them, and the empty space between them seemed to be huge.

"Well, I hope it tastes as good as it looks." Tony commented while reaching for his first sandwich. He placed it on a plate, then poured himself a generous side of ketchup to dip it in. Ziva did the same, but made a face when she took her first bite. Tony noticed this, and suppressed a laugh.

"Something wrong, Zee?" Tony smiled innocently at his wife, who sent him a death glare. Still, a playful smile tugged at the corners of Ziva's lips.

"How could you eat this?"

"Ah!" Tony gasped dramatically, then raised one hand to his heart. "Are you saying my grill cheese sandwiches aren't up to par?"

"No!" Ziva answered quickly, a blush creeping up into her face. "I just meant how could you eat it with ketchup? The grill cheese itself is delicious, but not with ketchup—"

Ziva stopped her rambling when she noticed that Tony was trying his best to suppress a laugh and that he'd simply been teasing her.

"Whatever." She mumbled softly to herself, only causing Tony's grin to widen. Clearing her throat, Ziva stood up to go to the washroom, but fell back onto the couch in surprise when her legs gave out from under her.

Before she could even register what had happened, Tony was standing up in front of her, a worried look on his face. "You okay Zee?"

The amusement present in his features only moments before was now gone, replaced so quickly by fear. "I am fine."

Relief flooded over Tony the moment he heard those three words, still the young man wasn't willing to take any chances. "Are you sure? You don't need anything? Or—"

"I am fine." Ziva repeated. She couldn't help but be touched by how much he cared for her, and flashed him a reassuring smile when he looked doubtful. "Really, I am fine. I simply have not exercised my legs a lot lately, since I was stuck in a hospital bed."

As much as Tony wanted to check and double-check that Ziva was okay, he couldn't help but smile at the bitterness in his wife's voice as she spoke about her stay in the hospital. He thought about cracking a joke about her not-so-pleasant experience there, but decided against it and changed the topic.

"Did you get to see your room yet?" Ziva shook her head 'no' and looked at Tony in confusion. Still, the young man remained unfazed and offered his wife a hand to help her stand up. Ziva took it, and was surprised when he didn't let go once she was standing. Instead, he pulled her along until they were standing in front of a closed door.

Tony motioned to it with a short bob of his head, silently telling Ziva to go ahead. Unsure of what she'd find behind the door, Ziva opened it and stepped inside a large bedroom. The first thing she noticed was the queen-sized bed.

Ziva ran her hand along the wooden frame and turned around slowly to inspect the rest of the room. A small TV sat directly opposite the bed, positioned on a stand full of movies and pictures of her, Jenny and Gibbs, along with one of Tony. Ziva smiled softly to herself, not minding in the least that he wanted so badly to be a part of her life.

The young woman let her eyes travel towards a dresser, which held more pictures, along with a few other small personal belongings. Her eyes swept the rest of the room quickly, noting a door leading to a small bathroom and a window with a view of their backyard. Finally, her gaze rested on Tony.

Her husband smiled brightly at the pleased look on her face, and Ziva couldn't help but smile back. Though they were little more than acquaintances at the moment, she was certain that he was a good man. He was obviously loving and loyal, and from what she had seen while interacting with him so far, Ziva was also sure of his kindness and lighthearted demeanor.

"You like it?" Tony questioned, though the answer was in her eyes.

Ziva nodded anyways, "It is wonderful."

"Good." Tony smiled wider and watched his wife intently as he added, "My room is right next door, so I'm close enough to be here at any time in case you need a spider killed or something."

Ziva nodded, they both knew that she wasn't afraid of spiders, and that Tony was simply saying 'I'll be there whenever you need me,' but in a more lighthearted tone.

"Good to know." Ziva commented with a smile, though her tone came out much more flirtatious than she'd originally planned. Tony's smile widened, however, showing that he didn't mind in the least. In fact, the young man was relieved to see a bit of normalcy return to their relationship. He didn't want to move too fast and end up pushing Ziva away, but he also missed the flirting, banter, and everything else from their previous relationship.

He flashed Ziva the infamous 'DiNozzo grin'—the one that landed him countless girlfriends in high school, and the one he knew Ziva herself loved—before pushing himself away from the doorframe he was leaning on and walking away. The only thing he'd neglected to tell his wife was the fact that she was sleeping in their former room, while he was now staying in the former guest room.

~~~NCIS~~~

For some reason, the smile Tony flashed Ziva before walking away caused his wife's heart to beat a little faster. She was completely aware of this, but unsure of what to make of it. She knew that he was attractive—her eyes swept over his figure one last time as he walked away, and there was no doubt about this fact—but the question she couldn't help but ask was whether there already was something else between them.

Yes, she was attracted to him, but somehow she felt more connected to the virtual stranger that slept in just the next room. When she first woke up from her coma, she had no clue who he was and didn't really care to know. Now, however, she wanted to learn more. He intrigued her, to say the least, and the young woman was certain it was more than just chemistry between them.

It was only two-and-a-half weeks ago that she woke up from her coma, completely oblivious as to who Tony was. Still, they had managed to bond during the time she was recovering in the hospital. Though having to be introduced to her own husband proved to be awkward, Tony had visited her every day and their relationship had grown. They changed from strangers to... The proper word to define their relationship escaped Ziva, making her even more aware of how complicated their situation was.

She cared for Tony more than when she first met him, but she still didn't believe that she loved him. Though he was attractive, kind, funny, caring and much more, the feelings she held for him were stronger than friendship, yet weaker than love. The best, and only, way to adequately explain her feelings was with the word 'crush.'

The word caused Ziva to wince.

Crushes were fine when you're in high school, or first meeting a guy... they're not good when the guy, who just happens to be your husband, is head over heels in love with you and you're torn halfway between love and friendship. It wasn't fair to either of them.

Ziva sighed, it was one thing to put her heart on the line in the search for love...it was a whole other thing to do the same to Tony's. He loved her, she knew that, and it wouldn't be fair to play around with his heart when she wasn't even sure yet where she stood on their relationship.

After all that he'd done for her, it simply wouldn't be right to lead him on due to her crush, only to possibly tell him later that she couldn't be his wife and wanted a divorce. Deep inside, another part of Ziva protested at this thought.

_You are simply overreacting. Having a crush on Tony is not a bad thing and flirting with him isn't leading him on as long as you do have some romantic feelings for him. _

The other side of her brain answered back. _You may have romantic feelings for him... but they're not strong enough to act on in this situation. He's already ready married to and in love with you! It would be cruel to give him false hope that you share his strong feelings while, in reality, you only have a crush on him. Crushes don't last long, and considering the fact that he married you, Tony's in this for the long run. It would be wrong to act on your feelings until you are absolutely sure of where you stand on your relationship._

Again, the return argument didn't take long in coming. _That is stupid! How can you ever be sure where you stand on your relationship if you don't explore the feelings you have for him. Acting on these feelings now may be taking a chance and it could possibly end up hurting Tony, but smothering them before they have a chance to grow would definitely hurt him because you would never allow yourself to feel the same way as he does._

Ziva pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache coming on and the arguing voices in her head weren't helping in the least. She was just as, if not more, confused now as she was before the argument began, because both sides made good points.

Sighing, Ziva stood up and left her bedroom. Right now, she'd give the topic a break, and would come back to it later. When the argument inside her head continued, however, she became frustrated and decided to watch TV with the hope that it would drown the voices out.

Right before Ziva entered the living room, the doorbell rang. The young woman let out a sigh, she was not in the mood for dealing with people right now, but knew that the person would've seen their car in the driveway and likely wouldn't stop ringing the doorbell until they got an answer.

She walked towards the door, and opened it while wearing a smile she definitely didn't feel. As soon as she saw the person in front of her, however, the fake smile disappeared, and was replaced by a look of pure confusion. "Abby?"

* * *

**So.... how did you like it? :) I thought that, since you guys waited so long, I'd put a bonus in and have Abby introduced. Of course, she can help Ziva figure out her feelings for Tony. :P**

**Also, I thought you might like it that I have Ziva at least crushing on Tony so she does care for him a little bit romantically. After all, a crush can really get the ball started on their relationship. :P**

**Anyways, do you guys like the idea of Abby (and McGee, I'll probably put tidbits of McAbby in if you guys want me to, since you've all been amazing with the wait times between chapters) being put in the story?Plus, I know, but how do you think Abby and Ziva are connected (since they obviously know eachother:P) and how do you think Abby has been "reintroduced" to Ziva's life? :P Something to think about.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and (though I'm technically on vacation, I'm still very busy) but will update as soon as I possibly can. I'm even starting to write the next chapter right after posting this so.... hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: Still not the greatest update time, but getting much better. :) Plus, I made it up to you all a little bit with the longest chapter of this story so far, plus, it's one of my favourites (I can only write well when I'm home alone for some reason, and today was the first day in what seems like FOREVER that I was home alone, even if it was only for a short time. Anyways, because of this I think that this chapter was written better than the other ones so far, but that's for you to decide.) :P

I have a few more ideas for twists in this story, and one will be coming up very soon (but I didn't want to rush it in the beginning). Anyways, just wanted to let you know that things are about to get a lot more interesting.

PS. no one commented on whether or not I should put McAbby so I hinted to it, and will either put it in or leave it out in the next chapter, due to whichever one people want. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

* * *

_Right before Ziva entered the living room, the doorbell rang. The young woman let out a sigh, she was not in the mood for dealing with people right now, but knew that the person would've seen their car in the driveway and likely wouldn't stop ringing the doorbell until they got an answer._

_She walked towards the door, and opened it while wearing a smile she definitely didn't feel. As soon as she saw the person in front of her, however, the fake smile disappeared, and was replaced by a look of pure confusion. "Abby?"

* * *

_

"Ziva?" Abigail Scuito was just as confused as the Israeli standing before her. Both women stared at each other in shock for a few seconds before realizing that their eyes weren't deceiving them.

"ZIVA!" Abby quickly wrapped her old friend in a tight hug before stepping back again and flashing her a huge smile. "We've missed you so much!"

"We?" Ziva questioned, not missing a beat. She looked around, then back at the smiling goth, "Is Tim here?"

"Yup." Abby's smile widened, "He's helping me move in right across the street. I was just coming over to introduce myself as he brought the last few boxes inside."

"You are moving in across the street?" Ziva looked at her friend in disbelief, "We are going to be neighbours?"

Abby nodded happily and gave the woman in front of her another hug before commenting. "This is going to be great. I was hoping for cool neighbours."

Ziva agreed, "Our street did just become a lot more exciting." She winked at the goth before continuing, "Have you had your fill of CafPows yet today?"

Abby smiled and shook her head, "You know me, there's no such thing as enough--"

"Hey Zee, who's at the door?" Tony's voice cut off Abby's response, and the young man appeared behind his wife only a few seconds later, looking at Abby in surprise. Silence fell over the group of three until Ziva cleared her throat.

"Tony, this is Abby, and old friend of mine. Abby, this is Tony," She waited only a moment before adding, "my husband."

Abby's mouth dropped open in surprise, and she stared at Ziva in shock. The friendly goth was only broken out of her reverie when Tony stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you Abby."

"Good to meet you too." The reply was more of a question than a statement, and the happy goth continued to stare at Tony and Ziva in confusion. Finally, she processed all the shocking information, and a smile appeared on her face.

"You're married?!" That shriek was the last thing Ziva heard before having all the breath forced out of her lungs by one of Abby's fierce, but loving, hugs. Tony looked at two of them in shock and alarm, this was definitely not what he'd been expecting to see when he asked who was at the door, and the fact that Ziva's face was growing increasingly red from a lack of oxygen worried him. He was just about to step in and "free" her when Abby ended the hug.

Before Tony had time to react, however, Abby was already wrapping him in a hug and smiling. "Any friend of Ziva's is a friend of mine." Tony, unsure of what to say, simply smiled and nodded.

"You know Abby, It has been too long since I last saw you and Tim."

"Who's Tim?" Tony cut his wife off with a questioning. Jealousy tasted bitter in his mouth as he said the name. Secretly, the young man feared that Tim was a former flame. Right now he was busy trying to rekindle the spark he and Ziva had, he didn't want, or need, another man coming into her life.

"Oh, just another old friend." Ziva waved her hand dismissively at the fact, and Tony's eyes narrowed. Was she hiding something? She sure seemed to want to move on to another subject quickly, and the look in Abby's eyes told Tony that there was more to this story.

"Anyways," Ziva continued, "I would love to catch up with the two of you. Do you want to come over for supper tonight?"

"I'd love to!" Abby beamed at her old friend and Ziva smiled back. Still, something inside Tony objected. The young man's back stiffened slightly, and his smile faltered, but he quickly recovered when Ziva looked his way.

"This is fine with you, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Tony offered weakly. He flashed her another smile for good measure, completely oblivious to the tiny blush that coloured her cheeks when he did so. Instead, he was focused on calming the resentment he couldn't help but feel towards Tim.

For all he knew, the man had dated his wife, and now he was expected to invite him into his house? And, on top of it all, they were coming over the first day Ziva came home. Tony had been planning to make the meal special by cooking her favourite food. Now, however, all romance in the evening had gone up in flames because of _Tim. _

A bitter taste filled Tony's mouth, but he forced himself to swallow, then smiled at the two women before him. "Anyways, I've got some things to do. But I look forward to seeing you tonight, Abby."

"Same." Abby watched as Tony walked away. She made sure he was out of earshot before looking to Ziva. "I didn't know you were married!"

"Neither did I," Ziva admitted, causing the goth to send her a questioning look. "You know the disease I had?" Abby sobered instantly and nodded solemnly.

"Well," Ziva continued, "the only way to get rid of it was with a heart transplant. I did not believe I would receive one, and I was much weaker than I am now when I got the call. Tony and I raced to the hospital and I underwent the surgery that saved my life... or at least that is what they told me." Abby sent Ziva another confused look so she clarified, "During the surgery, something went wrong and I fell into a coma."

Abby gasped slightly and Ziva offered her a weak smile before continuing. "I was in the coma for a couple of weeks, and when I woke up, I had lost all memory of the past three years. Basically... I didn't even know who Tony was."

"Are you serious?"

Ziva nodded, "I still do not know him very well, but we are getting there. He has been very good to me, and we are trying to rebuild our marriage now."

Abby stared at her friend, unsure of what to say. Finally, she resorted to her favourite method of comforting people and pulled Ziva into another hug. "I am so sorry. I hope you two can make things work out." She pulled back before flashing Ziva a sly smile. "He's hot enough, if you don't mind me saying so. The two of you make an amazing couple."

Ziva couldn't help but laugh at her friend. Though her cheeks burned with embarrassment at the compliment, it was a very Abby-like thing to say. "I am glad you are back Abby."

"So am I. And I'm glad you're okay. When did you get back from the hospital?"

"Just a few hours ago."

The goth's mouth hung open as she stared at Ziva, making the young Israeli slightly uncomfortable as she shifted her weight. "What?"

"You only got back today?" Abby questioned, and when Ziva nodded, her friend shook her head. "Then Tim and I can't come over tonight!"

"Why not?" Ziva questioned, and Abby shook her head in disbelief.

"We can come over another night, but tonight's your first night back at home. You should spend it with Tony--he's your husband. He might have wanted to spend it alone with you. It is special for both of you, you know."

"Oh." Ziva pinched the bridge of her nose. "I had not thought of that."

"Of course not," Abby sent her friend a smile and a wink, "You were probably too excited about the fact that you don't have to stay in the hospital anymore. I know how much you hate that place."

Ziva chuckled. "Well, you are sure that you and Tim do not want to come over tonight?"

Abby nodded, "I'm sure, it's your first nigh with Tony and your relationship is just getting back on track. There's no way we'd ruin that for you."

"How about we all grab a cup of coffee together tomorrow then. You know the place."

Abby nodded and smiled. "That'd be great. I'll tell Tim and make sure he comes. No excuses."

"No excuses." Ziva agreed. She couldn't help but smile. It really had been too long since she last saw Abby. She'd missed the happy goth and it would be nice to have her living across the street. The two women exchanged numbers quickly before saying goodbye and going back inside their respective homes.

As soon as Ziva shut the door behind her, she turned around to find Tony standing there. The young woman jumped, but quickly recovered when she saw Tony's smiling face. Her heart started beating slightly faster as she realized how close he was standing, and how little she'd have to move to close the gap between their mouths.

Ziva couldn't help but return the smile Tony was giving her, though she sensed something was off. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something was hidden behind the smile in her husband's eyes.

"I take it you're happy to meet with your friends again?"

"Yes." Ziva nodded, "Very. I have missed them."

"That's good," Tony commented, "I'm glad you're happy. So what time are they coming over?"

"They are not coming over tonight," Tony looked slightly relieved, and Ziva smiled slightly. Abby was right, this was a special night that they should be spending together, alone. "We decided to meet for coffee tomorrow instead."

"Okay." Tony flashed his wife a smile, "Great."

He stood there silently, a blush creeping slowly onto his face as he tried to think of the right words. He wanted to spend time with her, but knew that this was a lot for her to handle, and he didn't want to push her too hard. "So…" He began as nonchalantly as he could, "I was thinking of popping a movie in the DVD player. Did you want to watch?"

Ziva smiled. Though she'd never say anything, she knew how nervous he was. The look on his face, along with the way that he couldn't meet her eyes told her this. She'd never tell him, but she actually thought he looked cute like this. There was no doubt that he was hot. Tony was a good looking guy. But it was when he was nervous like this, when he put himself out there for her and made himself vulnerable to rejection that he looked cute.

"Sure. That sounds great." Ziva agreed, not wanting to embarrass him. She knew that, as confusing as this all was for her, it was just as confusing for him. He wasn't sure what to do around her anymore. He was her husband, yet she didn't truly know him well enough to be his wife under normal circumstances. A smile played at her lips, then again, these were in no way "normal" circumstances. They both knew this, and they were both equally confused as to what was the proper thing to do around the other.

"What movie were you going to put in?"

Tony shrugged, "I've seen them all. Why don't you choose?"

"Are you sure?" Tony nodded and Ziva smiled at him, making his heart skip a couple beats as she did so.

The two walked to the living room, and Ziva looked through the massive movie collection next to the big screen TV. She looked at them in amazement, wondering how Tony could've possibly found time to watch them all. Still, he'd mentioned that he was a movie buff, and had quoted quite a few lines from them while talking to her.

A small smile played at her lips. That was another thing she loved about him. Though she wouldn't admit it, since it would seem awkward doing so, it was nice to see him enjoy something so much. Even if the frequency of these quotes could become irritating at times, it was mainly amusing.

"What about this one?" Unsure of what movie to watch, seeing as there were so many, Ziva pulled out a random one and looked at it. "_A Walk to Remember_, it could be good."

"Sure, sounds good to me. Just pop it in."

Ziva nodded and started the movie. Tony had already claimed one end of the couch, so she sat down on the other end. Once again, the distance between them seemed awkward and huge. For some reason, as the movie started, she couldn't stop herself from glancing at Tony whenever she got the chance. She noticed him watching her too, though he'd quickly look away when she met his gaze.

"Did you want popcorn? I can go make some?"

"Sure," Ziva agreed, "I will pause the movie."

"Don't bother." Tony flashed her a smile, "I've seen it already, remember? In fact, I've probably got this whole movie and a bunch of others memorized, I won't be missing much if I leave for a few minutes."

Ziva looked at her husband doubtingly, but he simply smiled and stood up. "Really, I'm sure. Don't pause the movie. I'll be back in a few."

Ziva nodded and made herself comfortable as Tony left the room. She looked at the screen and watched as several characters were introduced. The character they seemed to be focusing on the most was Landon Carter, the most popular kid in school and the biggest jerk. Still, Ziva couldn't help but feel as if there was more to Landon than what she was currently seeing. He was coming off as a jerk in everyway, but somehow she believed that he was better than that.

"Popcorn's ready." Tony walked in the room just as the school principal ordered Landon into his office. The principal had discovered that Landon was drinking on school property and gave the young man a choice between expulsion, or involvement in several after-school activities.

As Tony sat down, he couldn't help but think back to when he'd been in a similar position. His grades had been falling consistently, and one morning his coach had pulled him aside to talk. Stating that if he didn't get his grades up, he'd be off the football team—bad news, since Tony was team captain—the coach had ordered him to get a tutor, and so Tony did—Ziva.

"Thanks." Ziva grabbed a handful of popcorn, then moved back to her place as Tony sat down again. A few minutes later, however, she grabbed the bowl from the table and scooted closer to Tony so that their thighs were touching.

Tony wasn't going to complain, and a small smile played at his lips. Still, Ziva felt the need to explain. "This way we are not constantly reaching for it. This is much easier."

Tony nodded and his smile widened as he placed his arm around Ziva to make more room. Instinctively, Ziva placed her head on her shoulder and leaned into him—to get more comfortable, of course. They both sat silently and watched as Landon met and fell in love with Jamie Sullivan, a devout Christian born to a preacher. She was often the victim of Landon and his friend's bullying, and once again Tony couldn't help but realize how similar this movie was to his life.

As the most popular kid in school, he'd often teased Ziva, who was an outcast. He'd tried to hide the fact that she was tutoring him, but, as they began to spend more time together, he fell in love with her. Finally, he built up the courage to ask her out, and she said yes.

Tony looked over at Ziva, who had fallen asleep. He was leaning against the wide of the couch, and Ziva's head rested on his chest, right above his heart. Her left hand rested on her stomach, while her right hand was also on his chest. Tony's heart started beating slightly faster, and he found himself pushing an errant strand of hair behind her ear, then cupping her face. Lightly, he placed a kiss on her cheek, and smiled slightly as she buried herself deeper into his chest.

They used to watch movies together all the time, and this was always his favourite part. For some reason, Ziva never could finish a movie, and would always end up sleeping while he held her tight. The first time, he simply laid there for a full hour after the movie was done. She'd looked so peaceful, and felt so right in his arms that he simply hadn't wanted to wake her up.

So much had changed since then, but his feelings for her hadn't. She still felt right in his arms, and he still loved her more than he ever thought possible. Despite all the heartache he'd gone through to claim Ziva as his own, he was glad he went through it, and wouldn't change a thing even if he had the choice.

It was because of the little tragedies he faced for knowing her that Tony had become a broken man, and it was because he was a broken man that Ziva could help him pick up the pieces and not only recover, but improve. He'd become a better person because of Ziva, and never regretted a moment of their life together.

While some parts of their marriage had been difficult, and he truly felt as if he'd die with Ziva when she had the fatal disease, things had worked out well in the end. She survived and now they were falling in love with each other all over again. Or at least he was.

Still, in the looks Ziva had been sending him, the way she'd pull back quickly—as if she'd been burned—after touching his hand, and the way she spoke to and about him, Tony was sure—or at least hopeful—that she returned some of those feelings.

Even if it wasn't quite love for her yet, he needed to know that she cared. He was willing to take things slow, because as frustrating as that would be for him, it was what Ziva needed. Pushing her now would mean pushing her away, and that was the last thing that Tony wanted to do.

* * *

**:D That was nice Tiva. But I felt as if you all deserved it after I threatened to divorce them a few chapters ago. :P Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, but also have a question. You can either answer it in a review, or in a message (either one is good, but I have anonymous reviews alowed for those with an opinion but without an account).**

**Anyways, the question is: should Ziva get her memory back? I have an idea on how she could, but the story could go either way (it works whether she does or doesn't) and I can't decided which one should happen so.... I'm asking for your help. Should she get her memory back or not? If you give a little bit of reasoning with your answer, then I can decide which way I want to go. Thanks for your help and I hope you enjoyed! :D  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: Finally, a good update time. :P It's still not my quickest update, but three days is much better than I've been doing on this story so far, so I am getting better. Like I said in the last chapter, I have a few more ideas for twists in this story, and one will be coming up very soon (but I didn't want to rush it in the beginning). Anyways, just wanted to let you know that things are about to get a lot more interesting. :p

PS. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! They were all amazing and I appreciated your advice on whether Ziva should get her memory back or not, and whether or not there should be McAbby. So... thanks again and enjoy the new chapter!  


* * *

Ziva cracked one eye open the moment she first heard Tony snore. The young Israeli slid carefully out of her husband's arms, making sure not to wake him, then stood up and stretched both arms above her head. Sighing, she rolled her head from side to side and arched her back, loosening the muscles that had been cramped for what seemed like forever.

Contrary to what Tony had obviously thought, she had not fallen asleep while watching _A Walk to Remember _and was awake when he brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Unknown to Tony, she was awake when he cupped her face in his hand and lovingly ran his thumb along her cheek. She was even awake when he placed a light kiss on her forehead—but Tony didn't need to know any of that as far as she was concerned.

When he had first pulled her closer to him while they were watching the movie, Ziva had assumed it was to become more comfortable. She was tired from her stay at the hospital, and had closed her eyes to give them some rest. Then, before she knew it, Tony had both arms wrapped around her and was whispering softly into her ear, saying that she would never truly understand how much he loved her, and how much he missed holding her like that.

Ziva didn't have the heart to open her eyes and pull away from him then, so she simply laid there as the movie finished. She'd expected Tony to get up after the movie was done, but much to her surprise, he didn't.

Instead, he simply laid there holding her, whispering that he never could understand how it felt so right to have her in his arms. Ziva wasn't sure if he realized he was saying those things out loud, but the part that shocked her the most was that she agreed.

She knew she had feelings for Tony—romantic feelings. The problem was that she wasn't sure how strong those feelings were, and didn't want to say anything or act on them until she was. After all, it seemed cruel to set Tony up for heartbreak like that, so instead of saying anything, Ziva stayed quiet.

Still, she agreed with a lot of things that he had said—even if she didn't quite understand why yet. It was a feeling she couldn't explain, but all Ziva knew is that it really did seem 'right' when Tony held her. They somehow fit each other perfectly, and there was no doubting the chemistry they had together.

Tony let out another snore, and Ziva jumped. As soon as she realized that her husband was not going to wake up, a smile crossed the Israeli's face. She left the room, and returned a few minutes later with a blanket she'd found in what appeared to be their linens closet. Though it had taken her awhile to find, she decided it was worth it the moment she laid it over Tony, and the young man pulled it tighter over himself.

The smile on his face said he was pleased and, before Ziva even realized what she was doing, she leaned down and placed a light kiss on his forehead. The young woman pulled back quickly, blushing furiously at what she'd done, before realizing that no one had seen her.

Ziva smiled softly to herself and slowly made her way to her room, where she settled into bed and pulled the covers over her. She wasn't exactly sure what had compelled her to kiss Tony there, but she was sure it had something to do with the magnetic pull he seemed to have on her.

Shaking her head free of all these thoughts, Ziva sighed. Once again, she was simply over-analyzing things. So what? Yes, she had kissed him, but it was only on the forehead and he had done the same thing to her. Still, a small voice inside Ziva's head couldn't help but question how simply giving Tony a quick kiss on the forehead could have such a huge affect on her.

~~~NCIS~~~

_"Tali!" Ziva screeched before playfully punching her sister in the arm. _

_"What? Don't even bother trying to deny it. I saw you--"Ziva leaned over and covered her sister's mouth with her hand before protesting to her father, who was driving the car they were all in. _

_"I didn't do it Abba. Tali's just trying to get me in trouble." _

_"You know that I can always tell when you are lying, right Ziva?" Ziva's mother asked from the passenger seat, causing her daughter to make a face before taking her hand away from Tali's mouth. _

_"Then you know that I am not lying." She stated with a confidence she didn't feel._

_Ziva's mother looked at her oldest daughter with raised eyebrows. Before she could say anything, however, Ziva's older brother spoke up from the back seat._

_"How much longer until we are there Abba?" _

_Eli David sighed, "Always the impatient one Ari..." He glanced at the sign which read 'Tel Aviv-29 km' and answered his son, "Not much long--" _

_Eli was unable to finish his statement before the car they were driving exploded into a million pieces. _

"Abba!!!" Ziva called out for her father, begging him to come back to her, as she sat up in bed.

The young woman quickly scanned the room she was in, checking her surroundings for danger. As she realized where she was, however, her heart dropped. Yes, she was safe in America, and no longer had to worry about Hamas bombs that killed her father, the former Director of Mossad. Still, being in America meant that the dream was real—her family was dead.

Ziva broke down into tears and allowed sobs to rock her body. She curled up on her bed and hugged her legs closely to her chest. Before she even realized what was happening, the door to her room was open, and Tony was kneeling by her side.

"Ziva? Zee, what's wrong?"

Embarrassed beyond words at having Tony find her this way, Ziva tried her best to regain some composure. Still, controlling her tears proved too hard, and her sobs only became more powerful.

"Shhhhhhh." Tony instinctively took Ziva in his arms, forcing her to sit up. She leaned against him, but Tony didn't mind. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm comfortingly, and rested his head on top of hers to let her know that she wasn't alone. "It's okay, Zee. Let it out."

"No." Tony's words finally seemed to snap Ziva back into reality, causing her to pull away slightly and wipe her tears away. "It is not okay, I am fine."

Tony looked at his wife hesitantly, unsure of what to do. He knew she needed to talk about whatever was bothering her, but he also knew that she was upset, and he didn't want to push her too far.

"Ziva?" Tony's voice came out so soft and sincere that Ziva couldn't help but meet his gaze. "You know I'm always here whenever you need me right? I'm here if you ever want to talk."

"I know." Ziva replied softly, and Tony nodded. He looked at her as if he wanted to say more, but was struggling to restrain himself from doing so. That look, the look that said he wanted to help her—that he would do anything to make her feel better—broke down the last of Ziva's defenses.

The woman who hated showing weakness broke into tears once again, and leaned against her husband for support. Tony simply wrapped his arms around her and let her cry it out. Finally, when her tears subsided, he began to rub her back softly, never unwrapping his arms from around her while doing so.

"It was just a dream." Ziva began, feelings as if she had to explain. Tony looked her straight in the eyes.

"Your family?"

Ziva was visibly shocked that Tony already knew what she was talking about, but assumed that she must have told him before losing her memory. Now, however, all she could bring herself to do was nod. "They are dead."

"I know Ziva, I'm sorry." Tony dropped his arms, then lifted one hand to Ziva's face. He took her chin between his thumb and index finger, then gently turned her head to look at him. Brown eyes met green and Tony's heart nearly broke at the pain he saw there.

Not fully thinking through his actions, the young man simply followed his instincts and pulled Ziva into a hug. Much to his surprise, she returned the embrace.

After a few seconds, however, Tony pulled back slightly. "I know that you've been through a lot—more than any person should. And I know that no one could ever understand just how hard it was to deal with the things you did. You loved your family, and I'm sure they loved you. That kind of loss is something that takes a long time to get over, but with the right people behind you, you _will_ get over it."

Ziva's eyes strayed from Tony's and her gaze rested on her hands, which now lay folded in her lap. Still, Tony wanted her to hear this.

"I'm not saying that this will be easy, but what I am saying is that whether you remember it or not, _I love you. _Not only that, but your parents also love you. Together, we'll sort through this mess just like we've sorted through all the others. I just want you to know that I'm here no matter what. I'll always be here and you can always count on me."

"I know."Ziva wiped her tears, and nodded softly. She couldn't help a small smile from gracing her lips as she said this. "You have shown me this much already. And I thank you, I do not know any other man that would have stuck with me through all this."

"Any man who really knew you would." Tony smiled, and Ziva's eyes met his once again. "After all, he'd have to be an idiot to give you up. Besides," Neither one seemed able to look away; both were captivated by what they saw in the other. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

"I do not want to 'get rid of you.'" Ziva confessed, her brown eyes searching Tony's green. Finally, without warning, she leaned in, and covered his mouth with hers. Tony instinctively deepened the kiss, and Ziva responded willingly. She locked her arms around Tony's neck and pulled him in closer to her.

Tony placed one hand on the small of her back, and the other at the base of her neck. He pulled her closer to him, needing more of her, but stopped as soon as Ziva moaned. The soft sound pained his ears, because he knew that their 'first' kiss should be a pleasurable one.

They should both be happy, and want to remember this moment for the rest of their lives. It shouldn't be like this. Ziva shouldn't have tear stains on her cheeks, and she shouldn't be suffering like she was. That was why, using all the strength he could muster, Tony ended their kiss and stood up, separating himself from Ziva in every way.

The look on her face nearly killed him, but Tony knew that he couldn't go through with this. He shook his head softly and refused to meet her eyes as he left the room. "I'm sorry, I just can't do this. I can't do this to _you." _

Tony closed his eyes and swallowed the lump that had so quickly formed in his throat. He may have just messed up the best thing that had ever happened to him, but there was no way that he could toy with Ziva's heart when she was in such a fragile state. Walking out of her bedroom proved to be the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, but he knew he had to do it.

He had to do it because he loved Ziva too much not to.

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**So… how was that? The part at the end was kind of unexpected, and I'd love to hear what you have to say about it. Still, I was thinking that I haven't been able to put too many twists in this story yet, so decided to do just that… plus I can't have this story become boring so now there are a whole new bunch of issues for Tony and Ziva to work out. :p**

**Plus, you may disagree, but I think that Tony's walking away from Ziva right then shows how much he cares for her. :) Even though it was hard for him, he decided to do what was best for Ziva. :D**

**Anyways, you guys amazed me with reviews last chapter, and I'd love to hear from you all again. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**

**(PS. Thanks again to those who gave me advice as to whether or not Ziva should get her memory back. I've already decided what I'm going to do, and you'll have to keep reading to find out if I listened to your ideas. :P)**

**Again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: Hi everyone! :)

I want to start off by saying sorry that it took so long to update (and I was getting so much faster again too! :[ ) but, as I'm sure many of you understand (since you're probably going through the same thing right now) high school exams have left me very busy. Especially since this semester was a very heavy one (with 2 senior sciences to study for... yikes :S). And, I go to a private school with super high expectations, such as forcing us to write a chemistry 11 review that is over 20 pages long! (So I haven't been slacking, I've been wanting to get this chapter up FOREVER but exams are making it really hard).

Anyways, "sorry" just about sums it up and that's the end of my rambling. :D I also wanted to thank everyone who left a review last chapter! (It was the best reviews I have gotten yet for this story--quantity- _and _quality-wise). Despite the long wait and short chapter (again, sorry) I did the best I could considering my workload at the moment and hope you enjoy it. :)

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Ziva woke up the next morning with an all-too-clear memory of the previous night's events.

She subconsciously touched two fingers to her lips as she recalled the way she and Tony had kissed, but her hand feel back to her side and Ziva's cheeks flushed as she remembered what happened next.

The image of Tony pushing himself away from her, a myriad of emotions written all over his face as he stood up and left her room was almost too much for the young woman. She knew that he had walked away to be decent—he didn't want to take advantage of her while she was confused and emotional.

The fact that he walked away, despite how strong his feelings for her were, showed Ziva that Tony truly was a good man. He put her well-being before his own and cared for her a lot. He'd had nothing but good, honourable, intentions as he walked out of her bedroom—but that still didn't take away the sting of rejection.

Though he may have done the "right" thing, it didn't feel right to her. It was incredibly difficult for both of them to deal with her amnesia, but until now she'd believed she had an advantage. With knowledge of the fact that Tony loved her, Ziva had believed herself to be immune to rejection—until now, that is.

She thought that there was no way he would ever turn her down, seeing as he cared so much for her, but was humiliated when he Tony walked away the night before. She wasn't stupid, however, and knew that there was so much more on the line than simply her pride. Tony's heart was just as vulnerable as her own, and by trying to use him to make herself feel better after a stupid dream, she'd been the cause of yet-another blemish in their relationship.

She and Tony were starting a new life together, and her kiss with Tony last night would always be the first she ever remembered with him. Frustration filled Ziva as she realized the full stupidity of her actions.

Sighing, she threw back her sheets and got out of bed. A quick glance at her alarm clock told Ziva the time: _5:47. _

Good, no one else would be up yet. Right now, she was not in the mood to deal with people. She'd had enough drama in her life for a while; all she wanted to do now was run.

After changing into a sweat suit and putting on running shoes, Ziva locked the door to the house she shared with Tony before taking off down the street. As her feet pounded the pavement, her frustrations slowly faded away.

Running was the one thing that always helped her sort through her emotions... without hurting the source of her frustration, that is. It often proved to be the only thing that could calm her down after a bad day--or night.

Though she was never one to run _from_ her problems, running itself gave Ziva time to think through whatever situation she was in. It also helped her burn off the anger that never took long to rise up in her. Now, however, she wasn't angry at anyone but herself. This was all her fault--she knew that, she just wasn't sure how to make any of it right.

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony groaned when the sun shone through his bedroom curtains the next morning. The warmth the sun's rays gave off felt good on his face, but the light they brought with them made it hard to sleep.

After a few minutes of trying, but failing, to return to slumber, Tony groaned in frustration and threw back his blankets before swinging his tired legs over the side of the bed. Then, mustering all the willpower he had, the young man forced himself to stand, leaving the comfort of his bed behind him.

A quick glance at the clock told him it was early--only six thirty. Tony grabbed a clean, white, buttoned shirt and a pair of jeans while muttering several choice words under his breath. In no way was he a morning person, and this morning was even worse than most others.

The kiss he'd shared with Ziva the night before flashed through his mind and Tony fought the urge to punch something. Why did he have to walk away?

_No._ The young man shook his head. _Walking away was the right thing to do._

Ziva was completely vulnerable when she kissed him last night, and it would've been wrong for him to continue with their "activities." Still, just because walking away was the right thing to do, it was in no way made it the easiest thing to do. In fact, for Tony, the easiest thing to do would've been to simply stay there, with Ziva, kissing her and holding the love of his life in his arms. However, the fact that she _was_ the love of his life was the very thing that caused Tony to leave her last night.

As difficult as it was for him to do--and as awful as Ziva no doubt felt, considering how miserable she was _before_ he interrupted their kiss and left--it was also no doubt better for both of them in the end. He never could've lived with himself for taking advantage of Ziva while she was so vulnerable and distraught over the dream she had about her family.

Then there was also the fact that, though his walking away would prove to become an awkward subject and no doubt had caused a rift in the progress of their relationship, his staying would've been worse. Ziva--even though she'd most likely refuse to admit it--would never be able to truly trust him again after knowing that he had used her moment of pain for his own personal gain.

At least now, as embarrassed as they both would be about the situation, Ziva would have to understand how much he truly cared for her. She'd understand that he walked away because it was the best thing for her, right?

A small smile crossed Tony's face as he entered the bathroom, quickly undressing before stepping into the shower and turning the water on. As he wet his hair, then lathered shampoo into it, he was convinced that she would understand. Ziva had always been a reasonable person--why should it be any different now?

Even as this thought crossed Tony's mind, however, another one--not quite as pleasant as the first--quickly followed.

_But there's nothing rational at all about emotions. You feel the way you do because you do, not because it makes sense to. Sure, Ziva's a reasonable person, and always has been, but where was her reason last night when she tried to kiss you? _

_Strong emotions about losing her family impaired her judgement then, and after having you reject her in that moment of vulnerability--no matter how good your intentions were--are sure to have an affect on her. It doesn't matter that you were trying to do the right thing; the only thing that matters now is the fact that you might've just scared her off forever. _

_Ending that kiss last night very well might mean ending your relationship. _

The thought was overwhelming. The realization that he may have just lost the only thing that ever really mattered in his life was enough to force the air out of Tony's lungs. His knees suddenly felt weak, and the young man began to gasp for air.

He quickly turned the hot water off, as the steam only made it more difficult to breathe, and stepped out of the shower, his legs feeling weaker by the minute. He managed to pull his underwear back on and reached for his pants when the need for the very oxygen his body was refusing became too much.

He reached for the counter to steady himself, but his body couldn't go on any longer. His legs gave out and Tony's last thought before collapsing onto the bathroom floor was _I lost her.

* * *

_**So.... was that worth the wait? :P Hopefully you won't be waiting as long this time, though I won't be able to update until at LEAST Saturday, as exams start this week, and I've only been doing final projects and preparing for exams so far. :S **

**Anyways, thanks for sticking with this story, despite the long update times. And I hope you all enjoyed (Even though Tony just suffered from a panic attack :p)**

**Next chapter? Ziva finds him! Stay tuned! (And please review if you liked it).**


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: Hi everyone! :)

I warned you not to expect a super-fast update on this chapter, since I had to write exams all last week and there was no way I could've found time to write (as I had TWO senior science exams), I don't think that this is a terrible update time, given the circumstances. Not only that, but I'm sure that you will all LOVE this chapter.

Not only is it long, but in my personal opinion, this is the best chapter I've written YET for this story. I love writing, but I LOVED writing this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write about and it's mainly in Ziva's perspective. I don't want to give away too much, so all I'll say is thanks to everyone who is reading this story, and a special thanks to those who reviewed! (I had the most amazing reviews last chapter, so really, thanks!) Enjoy!

* * *

Ziva smiled to herself as she turned into her driveway and ran up the front porch. Just like it always did, her run had helped burn off her frustration and put her in a much better mood. She felt rejuvenated, and the time she'd had alone had given her time to think.

One kiss was not the end of the world. Yes, it was a stupid thing to do, but she could at least be thankful that Tony did the right thing. Though she'd made things awkward between them last night, it would've been even more awkward if Tony hadn't ended it when he had. So… it could've been worse. Much worse.

Besides, a sly smile crossed Ziva's face, now she knew what it felt like to kiss him. Though it was short, their kiss had reaffirmed her suspicions about how good they were together. Because, though it sounded corny and she was definitely NOT the corny type, Ziva couldn't help but remember how "right" it felt. In some odd way, she felt as if she belonged in his arms.

Though it was going to be a long road back to the way they were before, Ziva knew that her feelings for Tony were getting stronger by the day. When she first woke up from her coma, she had absolutely no clue who Tony was, and didn't really want anything to do with him. Then, she began to admire his good looks, charm, and humour. She developed a crush.

Now, however, her feelings ran deeper yet. It wasn't just about his good looks or contagious laugh—it was about the man behind it. Tony had proved time and time again how good of a man he was and how much he cared for her, and she was beginning to really care for him too.

The thought was both exciting and terrifying. Their future together was finally falling into place and the more glimpses of it Ziva caught of it, the more intrigued she became.

As she reached for the front door, an odd feeling washed over Ziva. She couldn't really define it, but knew that something was off. She had no idea what it was, but something was definitely wrong.

The Israeli chuckled softly and shook her head, dispelling all bad thoughts. She was simply paranoid—everything was fine. A quick glance at her watch told her it was six thirty-seven. She'd been running for just under an hour, not bad, considering she was still a little weak from her hospital stay.

As she opened the door to the house she shared with Tony, Ziva quickly took off her running shoes and headed towards the bathroom—she needed a shower. Just as she reached for the handle, however, she noticed the bar of light under the door. Realizing that Tony was inside, she shrugged and headed towards her room.

She grabbed some clean clothes and headed towards the guest bathroom. It was smaller than the main one, but right now, she didn't care—a shower was the only thing on her mind at the moment.

After stripping down to nothing, Ziva turned the shower on and stepped underneath the stream of water. It felt good, but the uneasy feeling she experienced only moments earlier returned, so she decided to make this one quick.

Not even ten minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself, and turned the water off. She quickly dressed and exited the bathroom sure that something was wrong. The "gut feeling" her dad always claimed to experience seemed all too real to Ziva at the moment, along with the sudden urge to check that Tony was okay.

As she walked towards the main bathroom, the uneasy feeling grew, and Ziva's heart began to go wild. She tried to tell herself that everything was fine, but failed. She knocked timidly on the bathroom door, almost afraid of what the result of her doing so would be.

No answer.

Another knock. Louder this time, but still no answer.

"Tony?" Ziva banged on the door, "Tony! Open the door!"

When she still didn't get a response, dread washed over Ziva. Her heart felt ready to jump out of her chest as she slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door. The scene she saw before her, however, was even worse than she'd expected.

Her blood ran cold as she saw Tony, sprawled on the ground, lying in a puddle of his own blood. The counter also had telling blood stains on its corner, and Ziva was certain he'd hit his head on it. She rushed forward and knelt next to her husband.

Time seemed to stand still as she realized how shallow his breathing was. She felt for a pulse, and found one. Relief washed over her, but was only temporary as she realized that it was much weaker than it should be.

"Help!" There was no one around, so calling for help would get her nowhere and Ziva knew this, but she was completely at a loss for what else to do. Seeing Tony so weak and vulnerable was a major shock—he looked so different from the man she'd been getting to know.

It was only when she noticed that she was stepping in his blood that Ziva's mind started working again. She could panic later, right now she had to make sure her husband was going to be alright.

Ziva ran back to the whipped out the cell phone she kept with her at all times and called 911. Only a few seconds later, she was assured that an ambulance was on its way and that everything would be all right. Ziva was certain of otherwise, but didn't have time to waste by arguing with the dispatcher who was only doing her job.

She hung up the phone and grabbed a towel from under the sink. Working quickly, she wrapped it around Tony's head in an effort to stop the bleeding. Though she'd never had medical training, even an idiot knew that blood loss wasn't good, and that, if nothing else, she had to stop the bleeding while she waited for the paramedics to arrive.

The beige towel turned bright red, and Ziva fought the urge to throw up. Tony needed her. If there was one moment in her whole life where she needed to be strong, it was now.

Still, she felt completely helpless. She swore at the paramedics under her breath, any with them for not coming faster, and tried to think of anything else she could do. The fact that there was nothing irritated her to no end.

"Excuse me ma'am I'm going to need you to step away from our patient."

Ziva glared at the paramedics who had just arrived. "He is not _your patient_, he is _my husband _and there is no way that I am leaving him _now_, of all times, when he needs me most."

"I understand that you're upset ma'am, but we're just trying to help."

_They are just trying to help._ For some reason, the thought exhausted Ziva. All the anger left her, and was quickly replaced by defeat. She stood submissively and left the bathroom to make room for them, but still refused to leave Tony as she watched them work from the door.

What happened next all seemed like a dream to Ziva. The paramedics placed Tony on a stretcher and carried him out of the house. She followed them, her senses numb, and watched as they placed him in the ambulance. They assured her he'd be fine, but the young woman barely heard them. The only words she seemed able to make out were "Call family," "tell them," and "Providence."

Ziva nodded and pulled out her cellphone. She called her parents and though Gibbs was initially annoyed by the timing of her call, as it was still early morning, he quickly got over it after learning what happened to Tony. He hung up with a promise to "be there in a minute" and didn't disappoint.

Not five minutes later, Gibbs pulled his black car to a screeching stop in front of his daughters house. Jenny was with him, but he beat her out of the car and quickly made his way over to Ziva, who was still in a daze. She leaned into her father's comforting hug and allowed him to usher her into the car, which was soon speeding off to Providence Hospital.

Jenny and Gibbs allowed Ziva to sit quiet and still on the ride there, as they figured it was better than having her panic, but when they arrived at the hospital and she still hadn't blinked, Gibbs sighed.

"Ziva." He began softly, but his daughter still didn't respond.

"Ziver," he tried again, but with no luck. "ZIVA!"

"Wha--?" Finally snapping out of her daze, Ziva looked at her father, eyes widening as she did so. "Is he okay?"

"We don't know yet, come on." Gibbs spoke the words softly, but they still terrified his daughter.

Ziva scrambled out of the car, slamming the door behind her as she ran towards the elevators. Before she even realized what was happening, strong hands pulled her back and steadied her as she was forced to turn around.

"We have to go to the reception area first, Ziver. We don't know what floor Tony's on."

"Right." A small blush crept onto Ziva's face. She couldn't understand why her emotions, which she usually had no problem keeping under control, were getting the better of her. She wasn't thinking straight, and it was obviously worrying her dad, who kept glancing at her in concern as he placed an arm around her and steered her towards the front of the hospital.

"He's going to be okay, Ziva." Gibbs offered, but knew that his words would be of little comfort until she was able to see so for herself.

Jenny held the door open for them, and Gibbs continued to offer his arm as support for Ziva while walking inside the hospital. It felt way too soon to be entering a hospital with Ziva again, but Gibbs was at least thankful that she was okay. He was certain Tony would be too, but wouldn't push the fact with Ziva at the moment, as it would only frustrate her further.

Gibbs sent his wife a meaningful look, and she nodded. Jenny quickly went to talk to the receptionist so that her husband could stay with Ziva, and returned a few seconds later.

"He's on the second floor. Room 84. The nurse said he's awake and waiting for us."

Ziva let out a barely audible sigh and felt her strength return—he was okay. Suddenly, her parents were forgotten as she slipped away from her father and raced towards to stairs, unwilling to wait for the elevator. Gibbs and Jenny simply shared a knowing look and took their time in walking towards the elevator. Though they wanted to see Tony too, they also understood that he and Ziva needed some time alone together.

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva's excitement grew with every step she took towards Tony's room. It was silly, she knew, he was going to be okay, but she still wanted to see him and make _sure_ that he was actually fine.

In her excitement, she passed by the hall with Tony's room, but quickly realized her mistake and backtracked. Her head was spinning, but she didn't bother to slow down as she finally saw his room. She practically ran inside, crashing into nurse who was just about to leave, sending them both to the floor.

Embarrassment flushed Ziva's cheeks bright red, and she apologized profusely while getting up and offering the nurse a hand. All the woman did in return was smile and assure Ziva that she was fine before leaving the room, where Tony's soft chuckle caused his wife to turn around quickly, her blush becoming even more prominent as she realized that he'd witnessed the whole thing.

Still, the sight of him looking perfectly normal—except for the hospital gown he was wearing—and laughing was enough to bring a relieved smile to her face. "You are okay?"

"You thought I wouldn't be?" Tony laughing stopped, and he looked at her with concern, realizing how worried she must have been. "Just hit my head, that's all."

"Hit your head, passed out, and were lying in a puddle of your own blood until I found you. _That _is all." Ziva found herself unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice after hearing his nonchalant view of the situation. She instantly regretted her tone, however, at the look that crossed Tony's face.

"I'm sorry Ziva I didn't mean it that wa—"

"No." Ziva cut him off. She shook her head, unable to understand why she was acting so weird. "I am sorry. That was rude."

Taking a small step towards him, she placed her hand on his own, and ignored the heat that shot up her arm as she questioned, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." Tony flashed her his trademark grin, and Ziva smiled despite herself.

"Would you tell me if you did not?"

"Nope." His honesty was more than a little annoying, and Ziva fought the urge to roll her eyes. Though she would've said the exact same thing in his position, she was worried about him and simply wanted to make sure he was okay.

"Ahem."

Ziva turned around to see a forty-something year-old woman with greying hair waiting in the doorway, clipboard in hand as she stared at the young couple before her over black-rimmed glasses.

"Are you Mrs. DiNozzo?" Ziva nodded and the woman continued. "I'm Samantha Hart, Mr. DiNozzo's doctor. I figured I'd update you on his condition?"

When Ziva nodded again, Dr. Hart continued, "It seems as if Mr. DiNozzo hit his head rather hard on the bathroom counter, or so the paramedics reported. He lost a good amount of blood, as expected from a head wound, but should be okay. He didn't need stitches, doesn't appear to have a concussion, and should be fine, but head wounds should always be taken seriously, so I've ordered for him to stay overnight so I can monitor him."

Ziva nodded submissively, "Whatever you think is best."

"Good." Dr. Hart smiled comfortingly at Ziva. "He's scheduled for discharge at noon tomorrow, but given the fact that you yourself are still recovering from major surgery and a coma, as I recall, I trust that you can find someone else to drive him home? You still need to be taking things easy for a while."

Ziva pasted a smile on her face and nodded. "Of course, Dr. Hart."

The middle-aged woman smirked knowingly before leaving the room, causing Ziva to roll her eyes. Tony was watching her with a slight smile on his face, which only annoyed Ziva more.

"What? You do not think that I could drive you home either?"

Tony's smile widened.

"I know better than to underestimate you Ziva." His wife smiled, but Tony wasn't done yet. "But I also know that there's a difference between 'could' and 'should.' And, as a recovering coma patient, I really don't think you _should_ be doing anything too stressful yet."

Ziva glared at Tony, who simply lifted his hands in surrender. "Don't get mad at me. I'm simply trying to make sure you're okay."

"I am fine." Ziva replied, and Tony raised his right eyebrow knowingly.

"Would you tell me if you weren't?"

"No." Ziva answered, a smirk playing on her lips as she echoed his earlier response. This time it was Tony's turn to roll his eyes, but he did it with a smile on his face so Ziva knew he wasn't too annoyed.

She couldn't help but smile in response, and was completely oblivious to how he looked at her when she did.

"You know how beautiful you are when you smile?"

His question caused Ziva to smile wider despite herself, and he knew by the blush on her face that he had flustered her, despite her attempt at a casual response. "Extremely."

"You got that right." Tony agreed, his smile growing even wider as her blush deepened. The tables were quickly turned, however, as she leaned over him, so that her hot breath fanned his face.

"You are not looking too bad yourself."

This time it was Tony's turn to blush, but little did he know that Ziva wasn't done yet. Her eyes met with his, and she quickly dropped her gaze to his mouth before returning it to his eyes. Tony blushed even deeper and shifted uncomfortably, causing Ziva to smile victoriously.

Her face was so close to his, however, that Tony was having a hard time controlling himself. He wanted nothing more than to lean forward and cover her mouth with his, but knew that it was still probably too soon.

By the look on Ziva's face, however, he hadn't hid his thoughts very well, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Tony's face went an even deeper shade of red, and Ziva couldn't help but take a little pity on him.

She thought of pulling back, but instead, leaned forward even more and lowered his mouth to his for an all-too-quick kiss on the mouth. When she pulled back, they were both blushing, but she didn't fail to notice the fact that Tony was also holding back a smile.

She was trying to do the same, and quickly excused herself before she gave in. "My parents drove me here and are anxious to see you, I am sure. I will get them."

Tony nodded, wincing slightly at the pain in his head as he did so. Ziva, alarmed, quickly returned to his side. "Are you sure that you are okay?"

"I'm fine." Tony assured her. He smiled to let her know that he really was fine, and Ziva nodded.

"I will be back."

This time, Tony agreed verbally and refrained from nodding his head. Ziva smiled at him and he smiled back, completely unaware of the affect his smile had on her.

As soon as she was out of Tony's hospital room, Ziva closed the door behind her and took a few steps down the hall. Her small smile grew larger by the second, and she snuck a quick peek back in Tony's room through the window in the door.

In doing so, she saw him lift a hand to his lips, in happiness and disbelief that she'd actually kissed him. His face was still beet red from embarrassment, and Ziva was sure hers was too, but that didn't stop her smile from growing even wider.

What Tony didn't realize was that she enjoyed the kiss just as much as he did. Though she hadn't realized it before, the young woman was now certain—she was falling in love.

_No_. She corrected herself while lifting a hand up to her lips in memory of their kiss. _I already am in love.

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_

**:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D VIVA LA TIVA!!!!!**

**Okay, so now that I've gotten that out of my system. How did you like it?! **

**Like I said, this is my PERSONAL favourite so far, but you might not agree and that's fine. :) Either way I hope you liked it and I have a huge smile on my face right now. :D**

**So... especially on this chapter more than any other I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts so please, if you liked it, leave a review. I'll love you forever if you do! :D**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: A quick update time, and a long chapter... I'm on a role. :P This chapter is another goodie in my opinion, but I guess that you all will have to read and judge it for yourselves. I want to say thank you all for your AMAZING reviews, they're a major part of what helped me make this chapter so long (and write it so quickly) so... keep it up? Please? ;)

Anyways, you came here to read the story, not hear me talk, so... enjoy!

* * *

"How is he?" Ziva jumped at Jenny's question, as the young woman hadn't heard her mother walk up behind her.

Turning around quickly, she couldn't hold back the smile that came with what she'd just realized. She was in love! The thought was almost too much too handle, but Ziva didn't mind. She subconsciously lifted two fingers and touched them to her mouth, walking away with a small smile on her face as she remembered her kiss with Tony.

All Jenny could do was stare at her daughter, confusion written all over her face.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs, who had sent Jen ahead of him so that he could buy them both coffee, questioned as he walked towards his wife and noticed the look on her face.

"I'm not sure." Jen took one of the coffees from her husband's hand and smiled as she took a sip. She nodded her appreciation, then continued. "I asked Ziva how Tony was, and she just smiled and walked away."

Gibbs quirked an eyebrow and fought back a smirk as he glanced in Tony's room. "Must be feeling pretty good right now, considering the huge smile on his face and the way he keeps touching his mouth… almost like someone might do after someone they really cared for kissed 'em."

Jenny's mouth dropped open in surprise, and her eyebrows shot up. "I guess that explains the smile, and why Ziva was touching her lips too." She sent her husband a look, "I'm not sure why I didn't think of that."

"You've been out of the field for too long." Gibbs smirked at his wife as she glared at him. "Might need to polish up those investigative skills, _Madam Director_."

"Jethro…" Jen warned, but her words fell on deaf ears as Gibbs simply smirked before entering Tony's room. She quickly followed, and smiled at the goofy grin that looked ready to split Tony's face in two. "Have a good visit with Ziva?"

Red crept into Tony's cheeks, but he didn't let on that he was embarrassed in any other way. "Yeah," He flashed them his signature grin, "she told me all about how worried you guys were about me."

Gibbs and Jenny shared a knowing look.

"Actually Tony," Jen began, "Ziva was quite worried about you herself. She didn't even think twice about leaving us behind to run up to your hospital room and double-check that you were okay. Even the nurses assurance that you were fine wasn't enough."

Tony didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded, but the little sparkle in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by his mother-in-law.

"I'm getting another coffee." Gibbs stood up and threw his empty cup into the garbage pail next to his chair. "Refill, Jen?"

The redhead nodded and sent one last smile Tony's way before turning to her husband. "I'll come with you to make sure my coffee's not all gone by the time you get back upstairs."

Tony chucked, Jen smirked, and Gibbs let out a barely audible sigh before marching out of the room in search for more, hopefully stronger, coffee.

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony watched with a smile as Jen followed her husband out of the room. As soon as the two adults were gone, however, the smile faded. Was Ziva really that worried? Or were they trying to make him feel better?

Thinking back to the way she entered his room earlier, ploughing over the nurse and looking incredibly relieved when she saw him, Tony couldn't help but wonder if they _were _telling the truth. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, Ziva really did care for him.

For one quick moment, he let himself think that she did, bringing a smile to his face. The feeling that he used to get around Ziva suddenly returned—the feeling that they had each other, and nothing in the world could tear them apart.

His heart skipped a beat, and that feeling sparked something inside of Tony. Without really understanding why, he began to laugh. The laugh grew louder and for some reason he found himself unable to stop. All the emotions that he'd been keeping locked up inside were finally released in one, uncontrollable laughing fit.

The worry, fear, stress, and everything else he'd been fighting back for so long suddenly disappeared, and Tony knew that everything was going to be okay. He was going to be okay. Ziva was going to be okay. But most importantly, _they_ were going to be okay.

"Tony?" The voice from the doorway sounded concerned, and Ziva stepped towards her husband, looking as if she thought he was crazy. "Tony, are you okay?"

Finally sobering up, Tony realized that to Ziva, who had absolutely no idea just _how _hard the past few weeks had been on him, must think that he'd gone absolutely insane.

"Never better Sweet cheeks." The smile on Tony's face only widened as he realized that, unlike weeks before, there was no awkwardness as he called her by the 'pet name.'

"You are sure?" Ziva sounded completely uncertain of what she should be doing, and in reality, Tony couldn't blame her. The way he was laughing, after just fainting, hitting his head, and learning that he'd have to stay overnight in the hospital… he must've looked like a mad man. Still, he couldn't fight back the smile that seemed permanently stuck on his face.

"You know Sweet cheeks, I was just thinking… you sure seemed eager to see me sooner. I mean, you practically tackled that poor nurse to the ground just because she had the unfortunate position of blocking your path to my room."

Ziva blushed furiously and glared at her husband. "That is not quite how it went."

"Really?" Tony flashed his wife a grin. "Because your parents were just telling me about how worried you were when you found out that I was hurt. They were saying something about you being completely lost without me."

Ziva snorted and rolled her eyes, causing Tony to backtrack. "Okay, well, maybe they didn't say _that…_" The idea that he was wrong about her feelings and was just making a fool of himself suddenly popped into Tony's mind, cutting off any coherent thoughts.

The smile he was wearing faded, and he suddenly became much more serious, which worried Ziva.

"Is something wrong? Do I need to get the doctor? Is it your head?"

Tony shook his head, then instantly regretted it as he winced in pain as it began to throb. "No I'm fine. You did seem a little concerned though…"

"Of course I am concerned!" Ziva realized her outburst a little too late, and looked at Tony with the same wide-eyed look he was giving her. Blushing, she lowered her voice and tried to change the subject. "You should be happy to know that I asked my father to drive you home tomorrow."

Tony nodded meekly, but didn't dare say anything. He tried to keep the disappointment off of his face, but inside, he was calling himself the biggest idiot that ever lived.

He thought Ziva might finally be starting to care for him too, and then he went and pushed it. Made her mad. Teased her for the one time she showed true feelings for him—the day after rejecting her kiss—and undid the past two months of progress on their relationship.

An awkward silence fell over them, and Tony hated himself for ruining any chance of proving to her that he was a good guy—the right guy—for her. She deserved nothing less than perfection, and that was something he could never be.

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva noticed the second Tony's mood changed. It wasn't hard to tell, really, as he was smiling like a madman one moment, then looked ready to cry the next.

One look in his eyes was enough to break her heart, causing her to instinctively reach out to him. He looked at her, but didn't say anything, so Ziva realized she had to. "Tony, are you okay?"

No answer.

"Is it your head?" She questioned further, and this time Tony spoke.

"No." _It's my _heart_ that's broken._

"Then what is it?" Ziva stared at her husband in concern, and couldn't fight off a wave of annoyance when he insisted that he was fine, even though they both knew he wasn't. "Tony, why do you not trust me enough to tell me how you feel? I am your wife!"

"Yeah, well. Don't feel as if it _has _to stay that way." To Ziva, Tony's bitter tone felt like a punch to the stomach that left her gasping for air.

"What are you saying?"

The question was rhetorical, of course. She knew what he was saying, she just couldn't believe he was saying it. After all that they'd been through—all that he'd done for her—and _now _he was leaving. Now, when she was sure she couldn't live without him?!

"I'm saying that you aren't stuck in this marriage." Tony couldn't stop himself. Inside, he was screaming at himself to shut up, yet he seemed incapable of doing so.

"What if—"

"What if I don't want to hear it?!" All the fight left Tony at once, and his angry shouts were replaced by a heartbroken whisper, "What if I can't take anymore, Ziva?"

"Then I will not force you to."

Tony watched as Ziva grabbed her coat and stormed out of the room. He wanted to call out to her, beg her to stop and tell her that he didn't mean it—tell her that he loved her and that he always would, no matter what. He wanted to tell her that he could never have too much of her—of them—and that they could work things through.

He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, and that he wanted to be with her more than anything else in the world. He wanted to… but he didn't.

Instead, he watched as she left him, paralyzed with the fear that she might not ever return.

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva forced a smile as she waved goodbye to her parents, who had just dropped her off at the house she shared with Tony. How much long she'd share that house with him, she wasn't sure.

Tears threatened to spill over, but she blinked them back and continued to smile until her parents were gone. Then, and only then, did she allow one small tear to slip down her cheek.

Making her way up the stairs to her front porch, Ziva sighed before stepping inside her home. She shrugged off her coat before entering the kitchen, where a glass of water helped soothe the lump in her throat.

A glance at the clock on the wall told her it was a little after two in the afternoon. She had the whole afternoon to sulk.

The more rational side of Ziva knew that Tony didn't mean what he had said. He loved her, his actions had proved this to be true so many times, and he'd given up so much to be with her. She knew that he was frustrated, tired, and in pain when he said the words that broke her heart… but that didn't change the fact that he broke her heart.

Still, Ziva was just as angry with herself as she was with him because, if she was honest with herself, she was the one to blame.

She knew that Tony had done a lot for her. He'd made a lot of sacrifices. He'd worried about her.

Ziva shook her head in disappointment with herself as made her way to her bedroom. She should've realized that it was becoming too much for him. She should've realized that he was getting tired and needed a break—it was because she didn't that things had turned ugly between them.

Sure, the past couple of months hadn't been easy on her either, but she didn't have it as hard as he did for one simple reason: she knew he loved her… a privilege Tony didn't share. He didn't know that she loved him too. Maybe if he did, he'd worry less and smile more. Maybe then, the load he was carrying wouldn't seem so heavy.

Ziva sighed as she laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. It was stupid of her not to tell him that she loved him. She had nothing to be afraid of, and he needed to hear it. More than anything else, he needed to hear it.

Now… tears burned at the back of Ziva's eyes. Now it might be too late.

Right then, Ziva made up her mind. Tony had put his heart out on the line for her so many times… tomorrow she'd do the same for him. She'd risk the heartbreak and possibility of denial. Tomorrow was the day she'd tell Tony she loved him.

With that thought in mind, a soft smile graced Ziva's features as she fell asleep, only to wake up a few hours later with a horrible feeling. It was a feeling she couldn't quite describe, but one she knew she shouldn't ignore.

The clock on her nightstand read one thirty-three, and Ziva bit back a groan. She always had problems falling back asleep after waking up, and tonight would be no different. Her frustration was quickly forgotten, however, when she heard the sound of shattering glass only a few seconds later.

Her blood ran cold, and the "horrible feeling" that woke her up now proved useful as she slipped out of bed so she could determine the source of the noise. When she heard soft voices coming from the living room, however, terror seized her, making it impossible for her to move.

Ziva knew she wasn't alone in the house.

* * *

**So... was that a good enough twist for you? Though they're not NCIS agents in this story (well, Jenny and Gibbs are, but Tony and Ziva aren't) I have to put a few different kinds of twists in this story, but that doesn't mean they have to be minor and boring. :P**

**Again, a longer chapter, with a quick update time. :D I'd love to hear back from you all, so please, if you liked this chapter, have anything (positive or negative) to say about the story, or have a suggestion/idea for the story, I'd love to hear from you. :)**

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter: 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS but i do however claim ownership** **of all other non-original characters from the show.**

Author's note: Hi everybody! I have to say that I'm slightly disappointed that I couldn't get this chapter up very quickly. :S I'd been doing so well too…

Anyways, it still wasn't an incredibly long wait time, and this is a longer chapter (though, for some reason, it always seems shorter on here than on Word. I've been noticing this for a while and saw in someone else's AN that they thought so too, so… really you're reading 6 ½ pages of size 11 font right now). Anyways, I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter (:P) and you can finally find out what happens now… sort of. :P

You'll see what I mean with the sort of at the end of this chapter. So, thanks for the reviews, and enjoy!

* * *

Ziva's breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened as she stood, immobilized by fear. Someone was in her house. The thought sent a shiver up her spine, but it was only when she heard what the voices in her living room were saying that Ziva realized the full gravity of her situation.

"First things first, we have to check that the homeowners are asleep. We don't want to make the mistake of letting them get up and call the cops on us again. We almost got caught last time. I cased the house out earlier, and there are two bedrooms. You take one and I'll take the other."

"Gotcha."

Ziva's heart began to beat faster as she realized that they'd see her if she didn't move fast. Still, when the first voice began to speak again, something told her to listen to what was being said. "And Eric?"

"Yeah?"

When the first voice spoke again, it was even more serious than before. "I don't wanna see anybody get hurt, but if they're awake..." The man took a deep breath and waited a few seconds before finishing. "We've gotta take care of them before they try to pull anything. I watched the house earlier, and there are two people--a man and a woman. If either of them are awake... shoot them."

Ziva's eyes widened as her mind registered the man's words. The fear that coursed through her body was overwhelming and, before she could stop herself, she let out a gasp. The living room fell silent, and all the blood drained from Ziva's face as she waited to find out what would happen next.

"Did you hear that?" The first voice questioned, and Ziva felt her heart drop. She held her breath and waited to hear the response.

"Come on man, I think they're awake! Let's get out of here!"

"No!" Though they were whispering, the two men's voices cut through the night. "If they are awake, we have to end the problem _now_, before they call the cops! Now shut up and follow me. _Quietly._"

Ziva's heart was hammering as she heard footsteps approaching. Her eyes searched the room for any means of escape, and rested on the window. The soft 'click' of a safety being released told her that she needed to act fast, so she ran for it. In her hurry to get away, however, she failed to notice the shirt she'd left lying in the middle of her dark bedroom. Horrified, she fell to the ground with a soft 'thud,' and knew the moment she hit the ground that she was as good as dead.

The door to her bedroom was opened, and Ziva rolled over to find herself staring at two masked thieves, both holding handguns pointed directly at her.

"Please," Her voice cracked in desperation, "Please do not hurt me."

The two men remained silent, so she tried again. "Please do not hurt me. I…" Her mind searched for any reason that could possibly convince them to let her go unharmed. "It is not just my life I am concerned about… I am pregnant."

Her lie caught the two men off guard. Surprise flashed through their eyes, and they momentarily lowered their guns, unsure of what to do with the predicament they were in.

"Please," Ziva forced all the desperation she could muster into her voice. "Do not hurt me. Let me go and I will not tell anyone, I swear it!"

"John, why don't we just—"

"SHUT UP!" Ziva recognized his voice as that of the first murderer. John raised his gun and pointed it at her once again. "She's playing us."

"No I am not I am pregnant. Please—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" John screamed, and Ziva eyed his gun warily. She was still on the ground, as she hadn't had the chance to stand up before they entered her room, so she knew that making a run for it would be impossible. The blood drained from her face as she realized that she was most likely staring into the face of her murderer.

Still, the second robber, Eric, if she remembered right, wasn't ready to dismiss the possibility that she really _was_ pregnant. "I don't know John. We don't even really need this one. We're wearing masks so she'll never know who we are. We can leave now without any trouble."

"You call this 'without trouble?'" John waved his gun at Ziva, and glared at his partner.

"Shoot her and I'm done with this." Eric glared at his partner, and all Ziva could do was stare at the two of then.

Swallowing, John slowly took his gun off of Ziva… and aimed it at Eric. "I can't have you backing out, man. You shoot her now, or I shoot you."

"You're kidding right?" The way Eric's voice cracked, however, was proof that he knew John wasn't kidding. "Come on man, we're friends. Have been for years. We kept each other going through college. Where would you even be today if it wasn't for me?"

"I wouldn't be here," John agreed, "'cause I'd have shot her and been done with this place a good ten minutes ago. Now shoot her, or I'll kill you right here."

"We've been through so much together!" Eric tried to reason with his friend, but it was no use, and judging by the firm set of his jaw, he knew it. Swallowing, he raised his gun and pointed it at Ziva. His eyes met hers and he whispered softly. "I'm sorry."

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony sat straight up in his hospital bed. Something was wrong—he could feel it.

It wasn't common place for him to randomly wake up from his sleep with an awful feeling that something bad was about to, or already had, happened. Fear overtook him as Ziva came to his mind, making his heart leap.

_Was something wrong with Ziva?_

Completely indifferent to the fact that he was in the hospital for a reason, Tony threw back his covers and pushed himself out of bed before running out of his room. He continued running, now through the hall, and headed straight towards the stairs when a gasp and a crash caused him to pause for a moment.

Turning around, he found himself staring at a young nurse, who had just dropped a metal tray full of medical supplies, and who was now staring at him with wide eyes. She blinked rapidly, as if trying to decide whether or not she was actually seeing him, before overcoming her shock.

"Mr. DiNozzo? I'm sorry, but you're not allowed out of bed." She walked over to him and placed both hands on his left arm to get her point across. "Come on, I'll help you back to your room."

"NO!" Tony ripped his arm away, feeling only slightly guilty when he noted the look on the nurse's face. Still, he had no choice. He had to get back to the house to protect Ziva from… he paused, just what exactly was he going to protect her from? He woke up in the middle of the night with a "bad feeling" that virtually everyone gets after a nightmare, and decided that he had to 'break free' from the hospital and scare Ziva by showing up unexpectedly at their house simply because he _thought_ there was a _possibility_ that she _might_ be hurt?

Breathing a sigh of relief, he shook his head. He was going crazy over nothing. She was fine, and he was simply overreacting the way he always did whenever she was involved. Still, a small smile made its way onto his face as he realized that the only reason he always reacted so… enthusiastically, was because he cared about her so much.

The smile disappeared and was quickly replaced by a frown as guilt washed over him. He cared for her more than he'd ever cared for anything or anyone in his whole entire life… yet he certainly hadn't acted like it that afternoon. He recalled the way he had yelled at Ziva and practically offered to divorce her, even after they had begun to grow closer again. She was finally starting to let him into her heart, and he had to ruin it. A sigh escaped from his lips, and he shook his head softly, completely disappointed with himself.

"Mr. DiNozzo? Are you okay?" The nurse's question came out in a whisper, but it jolted Tony back to reality. Knowing that he must look crazy, he shot her a desperate look that begged her to understand where he was coming from.

"I think my wife's in danger." The nurse's eyes widened, and she stood before him, immobilized. Finally, she managed to choke out a few words.

"Are... Are you sure? Where is she? Is this a medical emergency? Wha--what's wrong?"

"I don't know." The comment earned Tony a skeptical look, so he quickly continued. "Please, I know you must think I'm crazy, but I'm not. I'm stuck here overnight and I _just_ woke up... Look, it's hard to explain. I just... I can feel that she's in trouble and I have to help her. I'm sorry, but I... I have to leave."

Turning around, Tony began walking towards the stairs, but was stopped when the nurse grabbed his arm. "Come on Mr. DiNozzo. I'm sorry but you're not allowed to leave the hospital until we've discharged you. I'm sure your wife is fine."

"AND I'M SURE SHE'S NOT!!!" Anger burned in Tony's eyes and his face turned bright red, but seeing the _scared_ look on the nurse's face, he forced himself to calm down. "I'm sorry. But I have to leave. You have to understand, I--"

"I do understand, Mr. DiNozzo." Tony gritted his teeth as the young woman cut him off, but he let her finish. "But _you _have to understand that there's no way I could possibly allow you to leave. Instead, I _can_ arrange for you to call your wife so you can make sure she's okay... though I can't say I'm sure she'll appreciate the timing of your call."

Tony glared at the nurse for a few seconds, before realizing that she was right. "Fine." He nodded and she smiled at him before ordering him to follow her. He did so, and it didn't take them long to reach a phone.

"I'll give you some privacy."

Tony nodded his thanks to the young woman before quickly dialing his home number. The phone rang several times, but Tony's heart nearly stopped beating when the answering machine picked up.

_"Hey, thanks for calling the Di--"_

He hung up and, pulse racing, dialed the emergency number for his area. A few seconds later, he was connected to the dispatcher.

_"What's your emergency?"_

"My wife." Tony surprised himself by choking up. He quickly swallowed before finishing. "I think my wife's in danger. She's home alone at our house on..." As Tony filled the dispatcher in on the specifics of Ziva's location, time seemed to pass in slow motion. Finally, he got a response.

_"Mr. DiNozzo? You say that you're wife isn't answering your home phone, and so you want me to dispatch two police officers to your house to make sure that she's alright?"_

"Yes."

_"And have you considered that she isn't answering the telephone because she's sleeping?"_

Silence. Tony ran his free hand through his hair as he realized what the dispatcher was trying to say. "So you don't want to send anyone to my house. No matter if my wife is being _MURDERED_ RIGHT NOW?!" He didn't bother to hide the outrage that flowed so freely through him. _This cannot be happening._

_"I'm sorry sir, but I don't believe tha--"_

"I can promise you that my wife and I will donate a very large amount of money to the police station and emergency services if you send only _two _police officers to our house right now."

_"I'm sorry sir, but we don't accept bribes." _The dispatcher was clearly unimpressed, and Tony knew he had crossed the line. Still, desperation washed over him.

"Please! I'm sorry! I'm just worried. Please send two officers to my home, and if everything is fine I will have absolutely no problem paying the fine for a false alarm. I just want to make sure that my wife is okay, and with every moment I spend here arguing with you, she could be in danger. So I'd really like to resolve this problem and make sure that she's okay."

Tony heard the dispatcher sigh on the other end of the line, and he held his breath as he waited for the response. _"Alright Mr. DiNozzo. I'm sending two police officers to your house right now to check that everything's alright. Please stay calm and I'm sure that everything will be fine."_

Tony wanted to argue, but forced himself not to and politely thanked the dispatcher before hanging up. His heart suddenly felt a little lighter knowing that, if Ziva _was_ in trouble, help was on the way. Still, the knowledge that she _might_ be in trouble was upsetting, to say the least, and he had to refrain from pulling all his hair out in fear and frustration.

Knowing that it wasn't reasonable for the dispatcher to call him back at the hospital to inform him of Ziva's situation, he'd given her Gibbs' number, knowing that the older man would understand and would let Tony know what had happened as soon as he possibly could.

Now the only thing left for Tony to do was wait.

* * *

**So… now do you understand what I meant when I said you "sort of" find out what happened? You don't have all the answers yet, but I promise that you will next chapter so stay tuned! I hope you guys liked this and that it was worth the wait, hopefully the next one won't be so long. :P Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Rebuilding Broken Lives

Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS.**

Author's Note: It's been so long since I've updated that I'm just going to hang my head in shame for now. I'll explain more in the final author's note at the end of the chapter.

* * *

The_ second robber, Eric, if Ziva remembered correctly, wasn't ready to dismiss the possibility that she really __was__ pregnant. "I don't know John. We don't even really need this one. We're wearing masks so she'll never know who we are. We can leave now without any trouble."_

_"You call this 'without trouble?'" John waved his gun at Ziva, and glared at his partner._

_"Shoot her and I'm done with this." Eric glared at his partner, and all Ziva could do was stare at the two of them._

_Swallowing, John slowly took his gun off of Ziva… and aimed it at Eric. "I can't have you backing out, man. You shoot her now, or I shoot you."_

_"You're kidding right?" The way Eric's voice cracked, however, was proof that he knew John wasn't kidding. "Come on man, we're friends. Have been for years. We kept each other going through college. Where would you even be today if it wasn't for me?"_

_"I wouldn't be here," John agreed, "'cause I'd have shot her and been done with this place a good ten minutes ago. Now shoot her, or I'll kill you right here."_

_"We've been through so much together!" Eric tried to reason with his friend, but it was no use, and judging by the firm set of his jaw, he knew it. Swallowing, he raised his gun and pointed it at Ziva. His eyes met hers and he whispered softly. "I'm sorry."_

"You will be," Ziva's heart leapt in her chest at the sound of a familiar voice, "if you don't put that gun down."

Ziva's bedroom light was suddenly turned on, revealing an angry-looking Gibbs, gun in hand. There was the distinctive sound of a gun's safety being released, and Gibbs appeared nothing if not confident as he pointed the gun at John's head. "Both of you, put your weapons down _now _if you want to live through the night!"

Eric, who had his gun pointed at Ziva, dropped it immediately. He kicked the weapon from out of reach and got down on his knees before Gibbs even ordered him to do so, a sure sign that he had been caught in similar situations before. Gibbs nodded when Eric put both hands on the back of his head to prove that he was harmless, and the NCIS agent was quick to turn his attention to the other thief, John.

John, he knew, wouldn't go down as easily as Eric had. The conversation Gibbs had just overheard was proof of that. While Eric had wanted to leave the house and do as little harm as possible when he realized that Ziva was awake and aware of their presence in her house, John had forced the other thief to stay. Similarly, Eric had wanted to let Ziva go, but John had tried forcing him to shoot her. Like Gibbs was going to let that happen.

"I _said_ drop your weapons."

"I heard what you said." John spat. He was sweating profusely and—though he refused to show it—Gibbs was unnerved by the frantic look in the other man's eyes. Panic was never good in a situation like this. Panicked gunmen meant trigger-happy gunmen, and even an idiot knew how dangerous trigger-happy gunmen were. "I just don't see why I should listen to you."

Eric was shaking as he watched his partner attempt to stand up to a cop. "Come on man, it's over. Just put the gun down before you get yourself killed!"

"No," John shook his head, "I'm not going back to jail. Not again. _Never_ again."

"Yeah," Gibbs interrupted, "you are." John tensed visibly, so Gibbs was quick to continue before the young man could try to shoot his way out of the situation. "I'm not gonna lie. You're going back to jail. I'll make sure of it. But there's no need for anyone to get hurt here today. Your sentence will only be longer if you fire that gun, and you know it. So put the gun down, and I'll allow you to walk out of here bullet-free and with a lighter sentence. Got it?"

John shook his head, and wiped his forehead with his left arm, while holding the gun steady in his right. Currently, it was aimed at the other thief and not Ziva. Gibbs wouldn't shoot as long as it stayed that way. He would try to talk the gunman down if it was Eric's life at risk, because the two thieves were obviously friends, and so John had less reason to shoot. Eric was merely his way out of the situation at the moment and Gibbs doubted that he would actually harm his friend unnecessarily. John, Gibbs guessed, would be much less hesitant to shoot Ziva, who meant nothing to him. That was why Gibbs had already decided to shoot John if he turned his gun onto the young woman, lying vulnerable on the floor.

"You're going to let me walk out of here, unharmed, if you want these two to live." John waved his left hand to demonstrate that he was talking about Ziva and Eric, while keeping the gun in his right arm aimed steadily at Eric. Still, Gibbs saw the man's arm shake, and he heard the tremor in his voice. John was scared, and Gibbs planned to use that to his advantage.

"I'm not going to let you walk away from this, but neither am I going to let you harm anyone. If anyone is this room gets hurt today, it'll be you. I can tell from the look in your eyes that you're terrified. You know I'm not lying when I tell you that I _will_ shoot you if you even _attempt _to fire a single shot. Now put the gun down before you give me the excuse, because _believe me_, if I can justify putting a bullet through your head right now, I will _gladly_ do so."

John gulped nervously. He was sweating profusely and his eyes shifted from Eric to Ziva before his gaze finally rested on Gibbs. The agent's cool stare was the last straw, and John broke down. He dropped the gun and kicked it away from himself, then got down on his knees. He placed his hands in the air as a sign of surrender, and hung his head in defeat. Tears slid down his cheeks as he realized he _was _going back to jail, and Gibbs took no small amount of joy in the fact that John was going pay for his crimes.

As soon as John's knees hit the ground, Gibbs stepped forward and arrested him. He was able to see Ziva fighting back tears from the corner of his eye, but knew he couldn't comfort her until John and Eric were properly secured. His disarming them would have meant nothing if he let his guard down and allowed them to retrieve their weapons, all so that he could comfort his daughter.

As soon as John and Eric were secured, then, Gibbs motioned for Ziva to get up. She immediately did so, and then proceeded to launch herself at her father. Gibbs wrapped Ziva in what he hoped to be a comforting hug, but didn't forget to keep a watchful eye on the two thieves. Both hung their heads in shame—not in regret of what they'd done, but out of regret that they had been caught, Gibbs knew—and both were sent down to the police station when two armed officers arrived on scene. After questioning the officers, Gibbs learned that the victim's "distressed husband" had called several minutes earlier, explaining that he feared his wife was in danger and needed to cops to check up on her.

Gibbs noticed the way that Ziva stiffened when Tony was mentioned, but decided to let it pass. She had been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours, and needed to rest rather than interrogated about the uncertainties of her marriage. Gibbs pulled Ziva into a tighter hug and knew he'd made the right decision. He could ask her about Tony tomorrow, but for the moment, she needed nothing more than a comforting embrace from her father.

~~~NCIS~~~

"Ziver." Ziva lifted her head from her father's chest and looked him in the eyes. She was clearly fighting back tears, and Gibbs sighed. "It's okay to cry, Ziver."

Ziva nodded, but refused to give into the temptation. If there was one thing she prided herself on, it was being a strong woman, and strong women didn't cry. Even with all that life had thrown at her in the past few years of her life—the loss of her family, the discovery of a severe heart condition, the loss of her memory, and, Ziva felt, her identity along with it—she had barely ever cried. Even when cruel kids at school deemed her a terrorist and excluded her from _everything_ she did not cry. Neither did she plan on crying now.

"I'm proud of you, you know." Ziva looked up in surprise at Gibbs. Her father's voice was uncharacteristically soft as he continued, "You're not my biological daughter but I couldn't love you anymore if you were. You're the strongest person I know—probably even stronger than your mother and myself. You've been through a lot and you've barely ever complained. You've faced the demons that follow you around everywhere and refused to let your troubles get the best of you. Rather than letting yourself give up—like so many other people I know would have if they were in your situation—you've overcome every single problem life has thrown at you, and I've proud of you for it. You've gotten over everything in the past, and you'll get over this too. You're a fighter Ziva, but even fighters need help sometimes. No one can face every battle on their own, and you're lucky enough to have others who love you and who are willing to help you. Don't reject our help because you think accepting it makes you weak. Don't refuse to cry because you think it makes you look weak. You don't need to hide your tears from me, because I _know_ you're a strong woman. I've seen the proof with my own eyes."

Ziva looked up at her father in surprise. She knew that he found it difficult to tell others how he felt, and the fact that he had just forced himself to do so for her meant more than she could say. Her father—because in Ziva's eyes, whether they were biologically related or not, Gibbs _was_ her father—was typically a man of few words. The way he'd put himself out there for her and tell her so openly that he loved her and that he was proud of her was almost too much for Ziva. She blinked back tears, but then remembered his words, and, for the first time in a very long time, she allowed her tears to fall.

For several minutes, Ziva and her father sat in silence as tears streamed down her face. Gibbs seemed to realize how badly she needed to cry, and rather than make her feel awkward about it, he pulled her to her feet and held her closely against his chest. When Ziva was finally finished, she pulled back and forced a smile on her face. After wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, she thanked her father, who merely nodded.

Gibbs knew how badly Ziva had needed that cry—how badly she'd needed to release all her pent-up emotions and frustrations. He had felt the same way after his first wife and daughter had died. He'd tried to remain strong for so long, but doing so had only hurt him. The emotions that he'd forced himself to keep inside had been tearing away at him until one night, he finally broke down on his bed and wept. Gibbs had never told anyone about that night—he was far too embarrassed—but watching Ziva now he knew that he had no reason to be. Sometimes a good cry was all someone needed to help them overcome the difficulties they were facing. Sometimes, all that emotion just has to be released. Gibbs remembered how much better he had felt after he'd cried—he had felt cleansed, somehow—and judging by the look on Ziva's face at the moment, he was certain she was currently feeling the same.

Gibbs could see the relief in his daughter's eyes. They both knew that her troubles were not over, but maybe now she'd finally be able to move on, rather than dwell on the past.

"Ziver," Gibbs began, and Ziva looked up at him, "I'm going to have to go to the police station to write a report, the police are going to want your testimony too. Are you up to it tonight, or do you want to wait until later?"

Ziva shook her head confidently, "I'm fine to do it tonight. Years of living with you have taught me that it's always best to give an account as early as possible, when the memory and its details are still fresh."

Ziva smiled at Gibbs playfully, and he was glad to see that her spirits were back up. Gibbs smirked in response, but said nothing. Instead, he ushered his daughter out the door. He covered her with his jacket as the cold night air greeted them outside, and led her to his car. Once inside, he was just about to start the engine when Ziva turned to him, curiously.

"How did you know to come to the house?"

Gibbs was expecting the question—he'd have wanted to know the same if he were in her position—and had an answer ready immediately. "Gut feeling."

Ziva smirked and rolled her eyes, but Gibbs knew she was thankful. He waited a minute before continuing, "I woke up, unable to explain why for a couple minutes, and then I suddenly knew—you were in trouble. I didn't know what kind of trouble, but I knew that it was bad. When your mother woke up and told me she had the same feeling I knew that it was serious," Gibbs flashed Ziva one of his rare grins, "your mother has always had a terrible gut, so when even _she _knows that something is wrong, it's serious."

Ziva rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Rather, she Gibbs finish.

"She wanted to come with me, but I wouldn't hear it. I told her you probably didn't have time for us to argue over whether or not she should come with, and that I would win the argument anyways, so she should stay home while I went to check on you. Unsurprisingly, that didn't convince her, so I told her that she had to stay home in case you called for help, and that did the trick. Then, I just grabbed my gun and my car keys and got here as quickly as I could. I saw that the window was broken and knew that my gut had been right, so I stepped through the window and tried not to make any noise as I made my way towards your bedroom, where I heard the two _idiots_ arguing over what to do with you."

Ziva nodded as her father finished, and then gave him her own account of the night's events. She knew from the way that his knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel with increasing intensity that Gibbs wanted to make the two men who had threatened her life suffer, and to be honest, she was amazed at the restraint he showed in _not_ shooting them. If she had to guess, however, she would have said that he showed said restraint for her. He didn't want her to see him shoot a man unless it was absolutely necessary. Even his decision _not_ to harm the men was an effort to protect her.

Ziva, of course, knew that she didn't need her father's protection, but she also knew that Gibbs would give it nonetheless. It was a father thing. Gibbs knew that Ziva was a grown woman, completely capable of taking care of herself, but he also knew that she was his little girl, and he would do anything for her.

* * *

Author's note: Okay, so I have a LOT of explaining to do, I know. I feel like a major jerk for taking such a long time to update, and I'm sorry for all those who have been waiting for me to do so. It makes me feel worse that I hate it when writers do what I've done and just neglect a story for so long. So, if a lot of you have given up on this story, I completely understand and do not blame you one bit.

I'm not blaming anyone, but I want you guys to understand why it took me so long to update: I recieved a couple flames that were especially cruel (I won't give out names, but two people actually _threatened _me, and it's safe to say that that really turned me off of fanfiction and writing for a long time. I tried writing this chapter a lot, but found that I couldn't. The flames had actually scared me (as ridiculous as it sounds) and one person sent me a message and threatened me with a knife and also threatened my family, all because I left you guys with a cliffhanger. I'm sorry to those people who get annoyed with the way I sometimes end my chapters, but I have to say that (1) I do not always _try _to end chapters that way, sometimes it just happens and (2) I have always thought of cliffhangers as a great method of building up suspense and increasing anticipation for the next chapter. I'm sorry if you disagree, but you don't have to read my stories if you don't like them, and I don't think that not liking the way I write gives you any right to threaten my personal safety. A joking comment is one thing, but a serious threat is another, and I don't appreciate them. I can take criticism, but death threats are way out of line.

So, yeah. That really turned me off of writing for a long time, and I admit that I was actually scared, even though I knew that the people making those threats couldn't actually hurt me because they didn't know where I lived. I'd just never been talked to that way before. That, of course, on top of life getting busy (I'm a senior in high school who, not to brag, is a good student so I take hard classes, but this means I get a lot of homework. Also, I've had to apply to universities, work to pay for university, etc) has prevented me from updating sooner. Again, I am VERY sorry to the innocent people who did nothing wrong but still had to wait several months for this chapter. I will update as soon as I can.

PS. Thanks to all the loyal readers who have stuck with this story and my others. I really appreciate you guys, so thanks! I know this chapter is short, but content-wise it made sense to end it here, plus I really wanted to get a new chapter up for those who have waited patiently for so long.


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